Any of several plants of the rose family, especially Geum, with yellow or pink flowers and distinctive hooked seeds.
From Old French 'avence,' possibly from Latin 'avantia.' The plant has been used in herbal medicine for centuries, and the name appears in medieval herbals.
Avens seeds have tiny hooks that catch on animal fur to spread—medieval herbalists called it 'herba benedicta' (blessed herb) because they thought its helpful hooks were a sign of divine blessing!
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