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Glite Dictionary
Heritiera littoralis

Heritiera littoralis

9.9
A small tree that grows on tropical coasts and has silvery undersides on its leaves
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Heritiera littoralis
  • The leaves of Heritiera littoralis are easily recognized by their silvery undersides.

Examples

  • Researchers studied how Heritiera littoralis adapts to saline environments.

  • Heritiera littoralis is often found along the muddy banks of tropical coastlines.

  • The Heritiera littoralis thrives in coastal areas.

  • Many coastal regions are home to the Heritiera littoralis.

  • Heritiera littoralis grows abundantly in the sandy soils of coastal forests.

  • The unique silvery undersides of the leaves of Heritiera littoralis help it reflect sunlight.

  • In many tropical regions, Heritiera littoralis is a vital part of the coastal ecosystem.

Synonyms

looking-glass plant
vsHeritiera littoralis
  • UK
9.9

A small coastal tropical tree with silvery undersides on its leaves

means the same but uses the formal botanical name

Surface Forms

Heritiera littoralis singular
Heritiera littoralises plural

Morphology

Heritiera + littoralis

This is a Latin scientific (binomial) name composed of a genus and a species epithet rather than a regular English phrasal combination; the constituents are proper names/Latinized forms and not productive English vocabulary. The second element 'littoralis' is not a common English word (and is marked as not found), so even knowing 'Heritiera' as a tree name would not allow a B1 learner to derive the full meaning without specialised botanical knowledge.

Etymology

Heritiera littoralis likely comes from the plant scientist L'Héritier and the Latin word littoralis meaning 'by the shore'. So the name is like 'L'Héritier's coastal tree', which fits because this small tree grows along muddy tropical coasts.