Hoya carnosa
- noun
- Specialized
- The Hoya carnosa in her living room bloomed with clusters of fragrant, waxy flowers last spring.
Examples
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He misted his Hoya carnosa weekly to maintain the humidity it needs to thrive.
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I bought a beautiful Hoya carnosa for my living room.
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Because of its thick leaves and beautiful flowers, Hoya carnosa is a popular choice for indoor gardening.
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The Hoya carnosa blooms in the summer.
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Because of its thick leaves and beautiful flowers, Hoya carnosa is a popular choice for indoor gardening.
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He misted his Hoya carnosa weekly to maintain the humidity it needs to thrive.
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The Hoya carnosa in her living room bloomed with clusters of fragrant, waxy flowers last spring.
Synonyms
A climbing plant with thick, shiny leaves and clusters of pink and white star-shaped flowers
Surface Forms
Morphology
Hoya + carnosa
This is a scientific Latin binomial rather than a compositional English phrase: 'Hoya' is a genus name and 'carnosa' is a Latin epithet (not a common English word), so the plant meaning is not derivable from the constituents by a B1 learner. Understanding it requires botanical or Latin knowledge rather than knowledge of ordinary English vocabulary, so it is unpredictable for learners.
Etymology
Hoya carnosa comes from two parts: Hoya honors an English gardener named Thomas Hoy, and carnosa is Latin for 'fleshy', a clear image of the plant's thick, waxy leaves. So the name helps you remember a climbing plant with juicy-looking leaves and star-shaped flowers.