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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Orchis \Or"chis\, prop. n.; pl. {Orchises}. [L., fr. Gr. ? a testicle, the orchis; -- so called from its tubers.]
1. (Bot.) A genus of endogenous plants growing in the North Temperate zone, and consisting of about eighty species. They are perennial herbs growing from a tuber (beside which is usually found the last year's tuber also), and are valued for their showy flowers. See {Orchidaceous}.
2. (Bot.) Any plant of the same family with the orchis; an orchid.
Note: The common names, such as {bee orchis}, {fly orchis}, {butterfly orchis}, etc., allude to the peculiar form of the flower.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
orchis
noun
1: any of various deciduous terrestrial orchids having fleshy tubers and flowers in erect terminal racemes
2: one of the two male reproductive glands that produce spermatozoa and secrete androgens; "she kicked him in the balls and got away" [syn: {testis}, {testicle}, {ball}, {ballock}, {bollock}, {nut}, {egg}]
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