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Glite Dictionary
Melastoma malabathricum

Melastoma malabathricum

9.9
A spreading evergreen shrub with large purple flowers from India and Southeast Asia
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Melastoma malabathricum
  • The Melastoma malabathricum produces stunning purple flowers.

Examples

  • Researchers studied the medicinal properties of Melastoma malabathricum found in Southeast Asia.

  • The garden featured a rare Melastoma malabathricum with its vibrant purple blooms.

  • Botanists identified the spreading shrub as Melastoma malabathricum due to its distinctive flowers.

  • I saw a Melastoma malabathricum in the botanical garden.

  • The garden featured a rare Melastoma malabathricum with its vibrant purple blooms.

  • Botanists identified the spreading shrub as Melastoma malabathricum due to its distinctive flowers.

  • Researchers studied the medicinal properties of Melastoma malabathricum found in Southeast Asia.

Synonyms

Indian rhododendron
vsMelastoma malabathricum
  • Indian
7.7

An evergreen bush from India and Southeast Asia with large purple flowers

is the scientific description noting family membership and a spreading growth habit

Surface Forms

Melastoma malabathricum singular
Melastoma malabathricums plural

Morphology

Melastoma + malabathricum

This is a scientific Latin binomial (a proper name) rather than a compositional English phrase; knowing the genus name alone might signal 'a plant', but the species epithet 'malabathricum' is obscure and not interpretable by a B1 learner. The phrase does not follow ordinary English word-combination patterns that convey the shrub's properties (evergreen, purple flowers), so the overall meaning cannot be derived from the parts.

Etymology

Melastoma malabathricum comes from old Greek and a place name: Melastoma means 'black mouth' because the flower often has dark marks near its centre, and malabathricum points to Malabar, the region in India where the shrub grows. So the name gives a simple picture and place to help you remember this purple-flowered shrub.