Alpine mouse-ear
- noun
- UK
:
oreja de ratón alpina
- Hikers admired the delicate white petals of the Alpine mouse-ear along the mountain trail.
Examples
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The Alpine mouse-ear blooms early in the brief Arctic summer.
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The Alpine mouse-ear thrives in rocky terrains.
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Alpine mouse-ear is well adapted to cold, rocky habitats at high elevations.
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Have you seen the Alpine mouse-ear in bloom?
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Hikers admired the delicate white petals of the Alpine mouse-ear along the mountain trail.
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The Alpine mouse-ear blooms early in the brief Arctic summer.
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Alpine mouse-ear is well adapted to cold, rocky habitats at high elevations.
Synonyms
A small plant with white flowers that grows on cold mountains and in the Arctic
Surface Forms
Morphology
alpine + mouse-ear
The compound is transparently built from 'alpine' (of high mountains) and 'mouse-ear' (a descriptive compound suggesting small, ear-shaped leaves). A B1 learner who knows 'alpine', 'mouse' and 'ear' can infer this refers to a small mountain plant named for the shape/size of its leaves; such appearance-based plant names are common cross-linguistically, so the meaning is directly derivable.
Etymology
Alpine mouse-ear gets its name from its look and where it grows: alpine because it lives high on mountains, and mouse-ear because its tiny, round leaves look like a little mouse's ear. That's why the name means 'a small mountain plant with tiny, ear-like leaves'.
