Oregon grape
- noun
- /ˈɔrɪɡən ɡreɪp/
- US
:
uva de Oregón
- Oregon grape shrub
Examples
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Well over half the plants are Pacific Northwest natives, including salal and Oregon grape.
Blog text (5) -
In the garden, I planted an Oregon grape shrub because I love its beautiful yellow flowers and blue-black berries.
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The Oregon grape is an excellent choice for landscaping, as it adds color year-round with its evergreen leaves.
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While hiking, we spotted an Oregon grape alongside the trail, its spiny leaves contrasting with the surrounding greenery.
Synonyms
An evergreen shrub with dark green leaves with several parts, yellow flower clusters, and dark blue berries
An evergreen shrub with dark green divided leaves, yellow flower clusters, and blue-black berries often grown in gardens
An evergreen garden shrub that has shiny divided leaves, yellow flowers, and dark blue berries
A small garden bush with dark green leaves and blue-black berries
A low bush with dark green leaves that stay all year and blue-black berries
Surface Forms
Morphology
A B1 learner who knows 'Oregon' and 'grape' will likely infer a grape (or grape variety) from Oregon, but the term actually names an evergreen shrub whose berries are only grape-like rather than a true grape. The constituents give a partial, appearance/origin-based cue but can mislead about the referent, so the transparency is limited.
Etymology
Oregon grape may come from early people in Oregon who saw the plant's blue-black berries and thought they looked like small grapes. That clear image, berries like tiny grapes on a shrub, explains why the name now refers to the evergreen shrub with yellow flowers and grape-like fruit.
