Agrostis canina

9.9

A small grass with thin leaves that often grows in wet fields and lawns

noun

Specialized

: Agrostis canina

Botanists often study Agrostis canina in wet meadows and marshes.

Examples

Have you seen any Agrostis canina in the park?
The golf course was seeded with Agrostis canina to provide a smooth putting surface.
Many lawns in northern climates feature Agrostis canina because of its fine texture.
The Agrostis canina thrives in damp conditions.
Botanists often study Agrostis canina in wet meadows and marshes.
Many lawns in northern climates feature Agrostis canina because of its fine texture.
The golf course was seeded with Agrostis canina to provide a smooth putting surface.

Synonyms

velvet bent

vsAgrostis canina

Specialized

7.5

A grass with narrow leaves and fine texture used for lawns and golf greens

is the species found naturally in moist habitats rather than only in cultivation

brown bent

vsAgrostis canina

8.6

A common grass with thin stems and narrow leaves that grows in wet meadows

is the species found across moist habitats not restricted to pastures

Surface Forms

Agrostis canina singular

Agrostis canina plural

Morphology

Agrostis + canina

This is a Latin binomial (scientific species name) rather than a compositional English phrase, and the second element 'canina' is not an English word in the learners' lexicon. Even if a learner knew 'Agrostis' as a genus, the overall meaning 'a particular species of grass' is not derivable from ordinary English constituent meanings, so it would be unpredictable to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Agrostis canina comes from older words: Agrostis means 'field' or 'grass' and canina means 'of a dog'. People may have called it 'dog grass' because it often grew where dogs walked or its fine hairs looked like a dog's fur, so the name came to mean this particular species of grass.