Je·ru·sa·lem n.  The chief city of Palestine, intimately associated with the glory of the Jewish nation, and the life and death of Jesus Christ.
 Jerusalem artichoke [Perh. a corrupt. of It. girasole i.e., sunflower, or turnsole. See Gyre, Solar.] Bot. (a) An American plant, a perennial species of sunflower (Helianthus tuberosus), whose tubers are sometimes used as food. (b) One of the tubers themselves.
 Jerusalem cherry Bot., the popular name of either of two species of Solanum (Solanum Pseudo-capsicum and Solanum capsicastrum), cultivated as ornamental house plants. They bear bright red berries of about the size of cherries.
 Jerusalem oak Bot., an aromatic goosefoot (Chenopodium Botrys), common about houses and along roadsides.
 Jerusalem sage Bot., a perennial herb of the Mint family (Phlomis tuberosa).
 Jerusalem thorn Bot., a spiny, leguminous tree (Parkinsonia aculeata), widely dispersed in warm countries, and used for hedges.
 The New Jerusalem, Heaven; the Celestial City.

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 Jerusalem cherry
      n : small South American shrub cultivated as a houseplant for
          its abundant ornamental but poisonous red or yellow
          cherry-sized fruit [syn: winter cherry, {Madeira winter
          cherry, Solanum pseudocapsicum]