Main Entry: col·chi·cum

Pronunciation: \-kəm\

Function: noun

1 capitalized : a genus of chiefly fall-blooming Old World corm-producing herbs (family Liliaceae) that produce flowers resembling crocuses
2 : a bulb, flower, or plant (as the autumn crocus) of the genus Colchicum
3 : the dried corm or dried ripe seeds of the autumn crocus containing the alkaloid colchicine, possessing an emetic, diuretic, and cathartic action, and used to treat gout—called also colchicum root