A genus of small herbaceous plants in the madder family, some species of which are used medicinally or in perfumes, known for their delicate flowers.
From Latin 'asperula', diminutive of 'asper' (rough). The '-ula' suffix creates a diminutive, so 'asperula' means 'a little rough thing', referring to the plant's textured leaves.
Asperula odorata, known as sweet woodruff, has a vanilla-like smell and was used in medieval times to flavor wine and make fragrant drinks; its name suggests it's a smaller, rougher cousin of other madder family plants.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.