Dutch elm fungus
- noun
- /dʌtʃ ɛlm ˈfʌŋɡəs/
- Specialized
:
hongo del olmo holandés
- Because of Dutch elm fungus, entire streets of elms were cut down to stop the disease.
Examples
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Scientists are researching ways to prevent Dutch elm fungus from infecting healthy trees.
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The spread of Dutch elm fungus devastated many city parks in the 20th century.
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The Dutch elm fungus has devastated many trees in the park.
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Many cities are battling the Dutch elm fungus to save their trees.
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Scientists are researching ways to prevent Dutch elm fungus from infecting healthy trees.
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Because of Dutch elm fungus, entire streets of elms were cut down to stop the disease.
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Many cities are battling the Dutch elm fungus to save their trees.
Synonyms
A fungus that causes Dutch elm disease in elm trees
How Harmful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is compositionally built from 'Dutch' + 'elm' + 'fungus' and directly signals a fungus associated with elm trees (the 'Dutch elm' context), so a learner who knows the constituent words can infer it refers to a fungus affecting elms. Although 'Dutch elm' is a historical label for a particular disease, the modifier+noun structure is transparent and follows normal compositional patterns, making the overall meaning predictable to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Dutch elm fungus got its name when Dutch scientists in the Netherlands found a fungus killing elm trees and causing 'Dutch elm disease'. So the phrase now means the fungus that infects and kills elm trees.