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Glite Dictionary
Arctium lappa

Arctium lappa

9.9
A plant with large heart-shaped leaves and edible roots used in cooking and traditional medicine
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Arctium lappa
  • The roots of Arctium lappa are often used in traditional medicine across Asia.

Examples

  • The Arctium lappa plant has large, heart-shaped leaves.

  • Many chefs incorporate Arctium lappa into their recipes for its earthy flavor.

  • In the wild, Arctium lappa can be found growing along woodland edges and hedgerows.

  • I found some Arctium lappa in the garden.

  • Many chefs incorporate Arctium lappa into their recipes for its earthy flavor.

  • The roots of Arctium lappa are often used in traditional medicine across Asia.

  • The Arctium lappa plant has large, heart-shaped leaves.

Synonyms

greater burdock
vsArctium lappa
  • Specialized
8.5

A large plant with heart-shaped leaves and a root you can eat for food and medicine

is the same species but without habitat detail
great burdock
vsArctium lappa
  • UK
8.3

A large plant with broad heart-shaped leaves that people use as food and medicine

is the scientific species label rather than a casual plant description

Surface Forms

Arctium lappa singular
Arctium lappas plural

Morphology

Arctium + lappa

This is a Latin binomial: 'Arctium' names the burdock genus, so a learner who knows that constituent can infer it refers to a type of burdock, but the species epithet 'lappa' is not an ordinary English word and carries no transparent additional meaning for a B1 learner. Scientific names function as conventional labels across languages, so the term partly signals category (a burdock) but does not allow full derivation of the specific species meaning from its parts.

Etymology

Arctium lappa likely comes from old words meaning Arctium ('bear') and lappa ('bur'), because its round seed heads cling to animal fur and clothes like tiny hooks. That's why the name fits this burdock, a plant people use for food and medicine.