Erysimum cheiranthoides

9.9

A thin European plant in the mustard family with yellow flowers that often grows as an unwanted weed

noun

Specialized

: Erysimum cheiranthoides

The bright yellow flowers of Erysimum cheiranthoides are often seen in wild areas, where it thrives as a common weed.

Examples

Gardeners often regard Erysimum cheiranthoides as a persistent and unwelcome weed.
Some traditional herbalists once used Erysimum cheiranthoides as a remedy for intestinal parasites.
Erysimum cheiranthoides can quickly invade cultivated fields due to its prolific seed production.
The Erysimum cheiranthoides is often found in disturbed areas.
Many gardeners consider Erysimum cheiranthoides a troublesome weed.
Many gardeners regard Erysimum cheiranthoides as an invasive weed that disrupts their flower beds.
Historically, Erysimum cheiranthoides was used by herbalists to treat intestinal worms.

Synonyms

wormseed mustard

vsErysimum cheiranthoides

9.9

A small wild plant with yellow flowers that often grows as a weed

is the formal botanical name rather than the common name

Surface Forms

Erysimum cheiranthoides singular

Erysimum cheiranthoides plural

Morphology

Erysimum + cheiranthoides

This is a scientific Latin binomial: the string functions as a taxonomic label rather than a compositional English phrase. Even if a learner knows that Erysimum is a genus of flowering plants, the species epithet 'cheiranthoides' is not an English lexical item and provides no predictable, directly derivable meaning to a B1 learner, so the overall sense is not recoverable from the parts.

Etymology

Erysimum cheiranthoides may come from old Greek names for small yellow wallflowers, and the part cheiranthoides means 'like Cheiranthus', a type of wallflower. One popular story says herbalists once used this little mustard plant to get rid of stomach worms, so although gardeners now call it a weed, the name still remembers that old use.