any of several scrophulariaceous plants of the genus Striga, esp S. hermonthica, that are serious pests of grain crops in parts of Africa and Asia
witchweed in American English
(ˈwɪtʃˌwid)
noun
an Old World parasitic plant of the genus Striga, introduced into the southern U.S.: a serious pest of corn and other grass crops
Word origin
[1900–05; witch + weed1]This word is first recorded in the period 1900–05. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: burnout, clone, geopolitics, hookup, hormone