Platanus acerifolia
- noun
- /pləˈteɪnəs ˌæsəˈrɪfɔːliə/
- Specialized
:
Platanus acerifolia
- Rows of Platanus acerifolia line the boulevard, creating a pleasant, shady walk during summer.
Examples
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In autumn, the broad leaves of Platanus acerifolia turn yellow and fall, carpeting the pavement.
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The city chose Platanus acerifolia for new street plantings because of its hardiness in polluted environments.
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The Platanus acerifolia provides excellent shade in summer.
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Many cities have planted Platanus acerifolia along their streets.
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Rows of Platanus acerifolia line the boulevard, creating a pleasant, shady walk during summer.
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The city chose Platanus acerifolia for new street plantings because of its hardiness in polluted environments.
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Many cities have planted Platanus acerifolia along their streets to enhance the urban landscape.
Synonyms
1
6.1
A large tree with pale, peeling bark, broad leaves, and round seed balls that gives shade
1
9.5
A group of large trees that lose their leaves in winter, like the London plane and American sycamore
A large fast-growing tree with bark that peels, planted along city streets because it tolerates pollution
Surface Forms
Morphology
Platanus + acerifolia
This is a scientific binomial formed compositionally from a genus name (Platanus) plus a descriptive specific epithet; if a learner knew both parts they could infer it denotes a kind of plane tree (literally a Platanus with a particular leaf form). However, the epithet 'acerifolia' is Latin-derived and not familiar to B1 learners, and the full common-name associations (e.g. London plane, urban street tree) are specialized, so the meaning is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Platanus acerifolia comes from old Greek and Latin words: Platanus means 'broad' and acerifolia is made from acer 'maple' and folia 'leaves', so it means 'maple-like leaves'. So the name gives a simple picture of a large tree with broad, maple-shaped leaves, which fits the London plane often planted along city streets.