Definition of "avens" [av•ens]

• Any of various perennial herbs of the genus Geum in the rose family, having often pinnate basal leaves and variously colored flowers with many pistils. (noun)
• The mountain avens. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Polar semi-desert dominated by mountain avens ( '' Dryas octopetala ''), Ny Ålesund, Svalbard."
• "In the Arctic, extremely steep environmental gradients are frequent on a microtopographical scale and ecotypic differentiation has been demonstrated over such short distances for alpine timothy (Phleum alpinum [16]), Carex aquatilis [17], mountain avens [18], and purple saxifrage [19], all widely distributed plant species in the Arctic."
• "Such an effect was demonstrated for mountain avens ( '' Dryas octopetala '') on Svalbard during a warm period in early winter [78] (see previous subsection on projected temperature responses)."