Colorado four o'clock
- noun
- US
:
cuatro en punto de Colorado
- The Colorado four o'clock produces striking pink flowers that bloom in the coolness of the evening.
Examples
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We spotted several Colorado four o'clock plants while hiking through the sandy Mojave Desert.
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Gardeners appreciate the Colorado four o'clock for its drought resistance and vibrant blossoms.
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The garden is full of Colorado four o'clock flowers.
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Have you seen the Colorado four o'clock bloom?
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Gardeners appreciate the Colorado four o'clock for its drought resistance and vibrant blossoms.
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The Colorado four o'clock produces striking pink flowers that bloom in the coolness of the evening.
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We spotted several Colorado four o'clock plants while hiking through the sandy Mojave Desert.
Synonyms
A wildflower with deep pink tube-shaped flowers that open in the evening in desert areas
A desert plant with deep pink, tube-shaped flowers that open in the evening
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a lexicalized plant name (a proper noun) whose meaning as an evening-blooming wildflower cannot be predicted from the parts 'Colorado' (place), 'four' (number) and 'o'clock' (time). A B1 learner who knows the constituent words might guess a time or place reference but would not infer the botanical sense without prior exposure, so the expression is idiomatic in usage.
Etymology
Colorado four o'clock gets its name from where and when the flower blooms. The part four o'clock comes from people seeing the bright pink blossoms 'open in the late afternoon'—often near four o'clock—while Colorado shows the area where the plant grows, so the name points to a wildflower that blooms in the evening.
