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Citation Information
Hendrickson, Robert. "adam-and-eve." Writer's Reference Center. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 18 Apr. 2025. <http://fofweb.infobase.com/wrc/Detail.aspx?iPin=EWPO00093>.
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adam-and-eve

Definition 
This pretty North American woods orchid (Aplectrum hyemale), also called puttyroot, apparently takes its name from its two bulbous roots, which are joined together by a small filament about two inches long that suggested Adam and Eve, hand in hand, to some poetic soul. When the plant has three bulbous roots or corms joined together it is called "Adam-and-Eve-and-their-son." The name adam-and-eve includes the dogtooth violet, because its plant bears a large and a small flower at the same time, and the common monkshood. It is said that when immersed in water one root or corm of the puttyroot sinks and the other floats—whether it is Adam or Eve who sinks is never told. Folklore also holds that adam-and-eve sewn together and carried in a bag on one's person protects the bearer from evil.

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