American pulsatilla
- noun
- US
:
pulsátil americano
- The American pulsatilla blooms each year just as the snow begins to melt.
Examples
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Hiking in Alaska, we spotted clusters of American pulsatilla growing along the trail.
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Gardeners prize the American pulsatilla for its delicate spring flowers and feathery foliage.
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The American pulsatilla blooms beautifully in early spring.
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Many gardeners love the American pulsatilla for its vibrant colors.
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Gardeners prize the American pulsatilla for its delicate spring flowers and feathery foliage.
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The American pulsatilla blooms each year just as the snow begins to melt.
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Hiking in Alaska, we spotted clusters of American pulsatilla growing along the trail.
Synonyms
A short hairy plant that comes back each year with blue-violet spring flowers
A short hairy plant with blue-violet or lilac flowers in early spring
A small wild plant with purple flowers in early spring
A short hairy plant from North America and Siberia with blue-violet spring flowers
A small plant with blue-violet or lilac flowers that blooms in early spring
A short hairy plant with blue-violet or lilac flowers that blooms in early spring
A short, hairy plant that comes back every year and has blue-violet or lilac flowers in early spring
A short hairy plant with blue-violet or lilac flowers in early spring
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward adjectival modification: 'American' specifies the geographic origin of the noun 'pulsatilla' (a plant genus), so the phrase simply means a pulsatilla species from America. The adjective+noun composition is cross-linguistically common and fully compositional, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
American pulsatilla may come from two simple ideas: American shows where the plant grows, and pulsatilla may come from a Latin word meaning 'small pulsing one' because the soft flower and feathery seed head seem to tremble in the wind. So, the name helps you picture a small, hairy spring flower that nods in the breeze and is found in North America.
