Emily Dickinson Lexicon

COW'HAGE, or COW'-ITCH, n. [In Bengalee, al kooshee.]

A leguminous plant of the genus Mucuna, a native of warm climates. It has a fibrous root and an herbaceous climbing stalk, with red papilionaceous flowers, and leguminous, coriaceous pods, crooked and covered with sharp hairs, which penetrate the skin, and cause an itching.