Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Picris echioides

Picris echioides

9.9
A European wild plant with spiny leaves and yellow dandelion-like flowers often seen as a weed
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Picris echioides
  • The yellow flowers of Picris echioides resemble those of the common dandelion.

Examples

  • Gardeners may find Picris echioides difficult to remove due to its spiny foliage and deep roots.

  • Picris echioides often colonizes roadsides and abandoned fields throughout southern Europe.

  • The Picris echioides can often be seen blooming in gardens.

  • Have you ever noticed how Picris echioides spreads quickly?

  • In many areas of southern Europe, Picris echioides can thrive along roadsides, showcasing its bright yellow flowers.

  • The spiny leaves of Picris echioides make it a challenging weed for gardeners to manage.

  • During summer, you may spot Picris echioides flourishing in abandoned lots, attracting pollinators with its vibrant blooms.

Synonyms

bristly oxtongue
vsPicris echioides
  • UK
9.2

A weed with spiny, tongue-shaped leaves and yellow flowers

is noted as naturalized and commonly found as a weed
oxtongue
vsPicris echioides
9.9

A wild plant with spiny, flat leaves shaped like a tongue and yellow flowers

is identified by its weediness and naturalization in the United States
bitterweed
vsPicris echioides
9.9

A plant with spiny, tongue-shaped leaves and small yellow flowers that grows as a weed

is treated as naturalized and commonly encountered as a weed

Surface Forms

Picris echioides singular
Picris echioides plural

Morphology

Picris + echioides

This is a Latin scientific binomial rather than a phrase built from everyday English words: 'Picris' and especially 'echioides' are taxonomic/Latin forms not known to B1 learners, and 'echioides' is not a transparent English morpheme. Even if a learner recognized 'Picris' as a plant genus, the species epithet does not yield a predictable everyday meaning, so the overall term is not derivable from its parts.

Etymology

Picris echioides comes from old Greek words: Picris means 'bitter' and echioides means 'like Echium', a plant with similar leaves and flowers. So the name gives a small picture — a bitter, tongue-shaped-leaved wildflower — which helps you remember this common yellow weed.