Definition of "sweet alyssum" [sweet alyssum]

• A widely cultivated annual or perennial herb (Lobularia maritima) of the mustard family, native to the Mediterranean region, having racemes of long-lasting flowers varying in size and color. Also called alyssum. (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.

• "Mignonnette, always lovely and always sure, now outdoes itself; and sweet alyssum makes a small white wilderness that is very sweet indeed."
• "Phlox and verbenas and sweet peas and stocks and asters and pansies and balsams; with mignonette everywhere, and sweet alyssum in spots; and sweet scabious and sweet sultan for the scent of present fragrance and the perfume of old times."
• "Sweet peas bow to phloxes here, and the gladiolus straightens itself with harmless pride among its more pliant companions, and the little white sweet alyssum goes visiting all the day."