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Glite Dictionary
Coronilla varia

Coronilla varia

9.9
A European flowering plant with pink and white flower clusters that grows year after year, also called crown vetch
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Coronilla varia
  • The pink and white blossoms of Coronilla varia appear in late spring and last through summer.

Examples

  • Gardeners appreciate Coronilla varia for its ability to thrive in poor soils.

  • Coronilla varia is often planted to prevent soil erosion along highways.

  • The Coronilla varia blooms beautifully in spring.

  • I saw a patch of Coronilla varia by the roadside.

  • Coronilla varia is often planted to prevent soil erosion along highways.

  • Gardeners appreciate Coronilla varia for its ability to thrive in poor soils.

  • The pink and white blossoms of Coronilla varia appear in late spring and last through summer.

Synonyms

crown vetch
vsCoronilla varia
  • Specialized
7.9

A plant with pink and white flowers that spreads to cover soil and prevent erosion

is the scientific name and notes naturalization in parts of North America

Surface Forms

Coronilla varia singular
Coronilla varias plural

Morphology

Coronilla + varia

This is a Latin binomial (scientific species name), a technical proper noun whose meaning (a specific perennial herb) is lexicalized rather than compositionally built from ordinary English words. One constituent is listed only as a genus and the other has no dictionary gloss here, so a B1 learner who knows ordinary English vocabulary would not be able to derive the plant description from the parts; scientific names are cross-linguistically used as labels and are therefore opaque to general learners.

Etymology

Coronilla varia may come from Latin words that describe the plant: coronilla means 'little crown' and varia means 'varied' or 'different'. The small pink-and-white flower clusters look like tiny crowns in mixed colors, so the name fits the herb we know today.