They've had some plant-related words already this morning.
Jacob Faulk, speller 11, correctly spelled arborvitae, meaning a tree or shrub of a genus of evergreens having flat branches disposed in two vertical rows and scalelike closely overlapping or compressed leaves.
And Dhyana Mishra, speller 5, spelled gallica correctly. It's a compact, fragrant, European rose having usually pink, red or crimson flowers that yield an oil used especially in perfumery.
Not to mention hinoki, the wood or fiber of a showy Japanese evergreen tree that is often cultivated as an ornamental and for its fragrant weather-resistant lumber. Speller 17, Anish Samanu, got that right.
