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Glite Dictionary
Mentzelia lindleyi

Mentzelia lindleyi

9.9
One-year plant with bright golden flowers that open at night and smell sweet
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Mentzelia lindleyi
  • We planted Mentzelia lindleyi along the garden path to enjoy its night-time fragrance.

Examples

  • The bright flowers of Mentzelia lindleyi attract pollinators long after sunset.

  • Gardeners prize Mentzelia lindleyi for its showy, golden blooms that open at dusk.

  • The garden is full of Mentzelia lindleyi this summer.

  • Have you seen the beautiful Mentzelia lindleyi blooming at night?

  • Gardeners prize Mentzelia lindleyi for its showy, golden blooms that open at dusk.

  • The bright flowers of Mentzelia lindleyi attract pollinators long after sunset.

  • We planted Mentzelia lindleyi along the garden path to enjoy its night-time fragrance.

Synonyms

bartonia
vsMentzelia lindleyi
  • Specialized
9.9

A plant that lives for one year with sweet golden flowers that open at night

is the same plant but given a formal scientific name
blazing star
vsMentzelia lindleyi
  • US
6.7

A plant with tall stems and bright purple flowers

is narrower, a single annual with fragrant golden night-blooming flowers

Surface Forms

Mentzelia lindleyi singular
Mentzelia lindleyis plural

Morphology

Mentzelia + lindleyi

This is a scientific binomial (genus + species): a learner who knows 'Mentzelia' will recognize it as a plant genus and can infer that 'Mentzelia lindleyi' names a particular species in that genus. However, the species epithet 'lindleyi' is not a productive English word and the specific attributes (annual habit, fragrant golden flowers that bloom at night) cannot be derived from the constituents, so the full descriptive meaning is not predictable.

Etymology

Mentzelia lindleyi may come from two people who studied plants: the genus Mentzelia honors a plant scientist named Mentzel and the species name lindleyi honors the botanist Lindley. So this Latin name is a way of 'naming after' people, which helps explain why the name points to the plant's discoverers rather than to its golden flowers.