Scurvy grass Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a widely distributed Arctic cress reputed to have value in treatment or prevention of scurvy; a concentrated source of vitamin C
    Cochlearia officinalis; common scurvy grass.
  2. noun any plant of the genus Barbarea: yellow-flowered Eurasian cresses; widely cultivated for winter salad
    winter cress; St. Barbara's herb.

WordNet

Definitions
  1. Scurvy + grass; or cf. Icel. skarfakal scurvy grass. (Bot.) A kind of cress (Cochlearia officinalis) growing along the seacoast of Northern Europe and in arctic regions. It is a remedy for the scurvy, and has proved a valuable food to arctic explorers. The name is given also to other allied species of plants.

Webster 1913