Gentiana villosa

9.9

A marsh plant from eastern North America with pale yellow or blue flowers

noun

Specialized

: gentiana villosa

In autumn, the pale blooms of Gentiana villosa add a delicate beauty to marshy landscapes.

Examples

The rare Gentiana villosa can be found in wet meadows throughout the Appalachian region.
Botanists are studying the habitat requirements of Gentiana villosa to aid conservation efforts.
The Gentiana villosa blooms beautifully in the summer.
Have you seen the Gentiana villosa in the garden?
In autumn, the pale blooms of Gentiana villosa add a delicate beauty to marshy landscapes.
The rare Gentiana villosa can be found in wet meadows throughout the Appalachian region.
Botanists are studying the habitat requirements of Gentiana villosa to aid conservation efforts.

Surface Forms

Gentiana villosa singular

Gentiana villosas plural

Morphology

Gentiana + villosa

This is a taxonomic binomial combining the genus name Gentiana with a species epithet, so a learner who knows the constituents would at least recognise it denotes a particular species of Gentiana. However, the specific descriptive properties in the full definition (habitat, flower colour) and the Latin epithet 'villosa' (not provided in the dictionary entry) are not directly derivable by a B1 learner, so the full meaning is only partially predictable.

Etymology

Gentiana villosa may come from Gentiana, named after an ancient king who used gentian roots as medicine, and villosa, a Latin word meaning 'hairy'. So the name gives a clear image of a gentian plant with soft hairs, which helps explain why we call this pale marsh gentian Gentiana villosa today.