Clitoria ternatea
- noun
- Specialized
:
Clitoria ternatea
- The vivid blue flowers of the Clitoria ternatea are often used to make herbal tea.
Examples
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The Clitoria ternatea plant thrives in tropical climates.
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Researchers are studying compounds found in Clitoria ternatea for possible health benefits.
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Gardeners admire Clitoria ternatea for its rapid growth and vibrant blossoms.
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Many gardeners love to grow Clitoria ternatea for its stunning flowers.
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Gardeners admire Clitoria ternatea for its rapid growth and vibrant blossoms.
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The vivid blue flowers of the Clitoria ternatea are often used to make herbal tea.
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Many gardeners love to grow Clitoria ternatea for its stunning flowers.
Synonyms
A tropical climbing plant with bright blue flowers used for tea or decoration
A climbing plant with bright blue or purple flowers that people use to make tea and decorate gardens
Surface Forms
Morphology
Clitoria + ternatea
This is a scientific Latin binomial (proper name) rather than a compositional English phrase. Even if a learner knows 'Clitoria' as a plant genus, the epithet 'ternatea' is not interpretable English vocabulary and does not transparently convey the species' appearance or the common name 'butterfly pea'. Species names function as arbitrary labels across languages, so a B1 learner cannot derive the MWE meaning from its parts.
Etymology
Clitoria ternatea gets its name from the shape of its bright blue flower: early plant scientists used Clitoria because the blossom looked like a small female body part. The second word, ternatea, comes from the island 'Ternate' where Europeans first saw the plant. So the full name points to the flower's shape and where it was found, and the plant is also called 'butterfly pea' because the petals look like a butterfly.
