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Glite Dictionary
Asclepias curassavica

Asclepias curassavica

9.9
A tropical plant with bright orange-red flowers and long seed pods that attracts butterflies
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Asclepias curassavica
  • Asclepias curassavica is often grown in gardens due to its vibrant orange-red flowers that attract many pollinators.

Examples

  • In many regions, Asclepias curassavica is considered an invasive weed.

  • Asclepias curassavica is popular with gardeners for its bright flowers that attract butterflies.

  • The long seed pods of Asclepias curassavica resemble the wings of a swallow.

  • The Asclepias curassavica blooms beautifully in the summer.

  • Have you seen the Asclepias curassavica in the garden?

  • Asclepias curassavica can spread rapidly in tropical regions, making it a common sight as a weed.

  • Asclepias curassavica produces long seed pods that can float away when they burst open.

Synonyms

blood flower
vsAsclepias curassavica
9.3

A tropical plant with bright orange-red flowers that often grows as a weed

is the same plant but known by another common name
swallowwort
vsAsclepias curassavica
9.9

A tropical plant with orange-red flowers and wing-shaped seed pods that often grows as a weed

focuses on long linear seed pods rather than wing shaped ones

Surface Forms

Asclepias curassavica singular
Asclepias curassavica plural

Morphology

Asclepias + curassavica

This is a Latin binomial (genus + species) used as a scientific name: while 'Asclepias' signals the milkweed genus, the specific epithet 'curassavica' is a Latinized form not transparently meaningful to a B1 learner and is not defined here. Scientific taxonomic names are lexicalized and require botanical knowledge to map to 'tropical milkweed'; the overall species meaning is therefore not derivable from the surface constituents by an average learner.

Etymology

Asclepias curassavica may get its name from the Greek healer Asclepias and the word curassavica, meaning 'from Curaçao'. People once used milkweeds as simple 'medicine', so the name helps you remember it is a tropical milkweed herb.