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Glite Dictionary
Begonia cocchinea

Begonia cocchinea

9.9
A South American plant with large wing-shaped leaves and coral-red flowers
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : begonia cocchinea
  • The large, angel wing-shaped leaves distinguish the Begonia cocchinea from other begonias.

Examples

  • The botanical garden recently added a beautiful Begonia cocchinea to its tropical plant collection.

  • Gardeners admire the striking red blooms of the Begonia cocchinea during the late spring.

  • I planted a Begonia cocchinea in my garden.

  • The Begonia cocchinea blooms beautifully in the summer.

  • Gardeners admire the striking red blooms of the Begonia cocchinea during the late spring.

  • The botanical garden recently added a beautiful Begonia cocchinea to its tropical plant collection.

  • The large, angel wing-shaped leaves distinguish the Begonia cocchinea from other begonias.

Synonyms

angel-wing begonia
vsBegonia cocchinea
  • Specialized
8.9

A South American plant with wing-shaped leaves and red flower clusters

is the more technical name noting basal leaf lobes and raceme flower arrangement

Surface Forms

Begonia cocchinea singular
Begonia cocchineas plural

Morphology

Begonia + cocchinea

This is a Latin binomial: 'Begonia' signals the plant genus but 'cocchinea' is a non‑English species epithet with no clear everyday meaning for a B1 learner. Even if the learner knows 'Begonia', they cannot derive the specific botanical description from the species name alone (and the Latin root meaning is unlikely to be known), so the expression is not compositionally transparent.

Etymology

Begonia cocchinea mixes the plant family name Begonia, named for a French gardener, with cocchinea, an old word that may mean 'scarlet' or bright red. Because this plant has clear coral-red flowers and large, angel-wing leaves, the 'scarlet' part gives a strong picture and helps explain the name.