honeybush means any of a group of bushes in the genus Cyclopia whose flowers smell of honey and whose leaves are used to make an herbal tea. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 91 out of 100.
Etymology
From honey + bush; for the South African plant, a calque of Afrikaans heuningbos (heuning + bos). Compare related borrowing rooibos (literally “redbush”) from rooi (“red”) + bos (“bush”).
noun
- Any of a group of bushes in the genus Cyclopia whose flowers smell of honey and whose leaves are used to make an herbal tea.“The Fynbos Vinegar, named for vegetation typical of the Cape region, is seasoned with honeybush tea, rose geranium, wild olive, grape must and buchu, a local bush.”
- Any of several not closely related shrubs that have features reminiscent of honey, of species:; Cuttsia viburnea (native elderberry), of rainforests in New South Wales and Queensland in Australia.
- Any of several not closely related shrubs that have features reminiscent of honey, of species:; Hakea lissocarpha (duck-and-drake-bush), of Western Australia
- Any of several not closely related shrubs that have features reminiscent of honey, of species:; Melianthus major (Cape honeyflower), of South Africa and naturalised elsewhere
- Any of several not closely related shrubs that have features reminiscent of honey, of species:; Richea scoparia, of Tasmania