Rubus cissoides
- noun
- New Zealand
:
mora de Nueva Zelanda
- Gardeners often remove Rubus cissoides to prevent it from overtaking ornamental shrubs.
Examples
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Scientists studied how Rubus cissoides competes with other plants by rapidly covering available space.
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The dense growth of Rubus cissoides can provide shelter for native birds in New Zealand forests.
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The Rubus cissoides thrives in New Zealand's temperate climate.
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Have you seen the Rubus cissoides growing near the river?
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Gardeners often remove Rubus cissoides to prevent it from overtaking ornamental shrubs.
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The dense growth of Rubus cissoides can provide shelter for native birds in New Zealand forests.
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Have you seen the Rubus cissoides growing near the river?
Synonyms
A climbing shrub with thorny stems from New Zealand
A shrub with thick stems from New Zealand that grows over other plants
A thick-stemmed, thorny shrub that trails over and through other plants in New Zealand forests
A trailing shrub from New Zealand with thick stems that grows over other plants
Surface Forms
Morphology
Rubus + cissoides
The binomial 'Rubus cissoides' signals a taxonomic plant name: knowing 'Rubus' (a genus of brambles) lets a learner infer it is a plant/species, but the specific epithet 'cissoides' is not transparent or lexically available to a B1 learner. Thus the overall meaning (a particular shrub) is partially derivable (it’s a Rubus species) but the detailed sense and traits are not predictable from the constituents alone.
Etymology
The name Rubus cissoides comes from old Latin and Greek words: Rubus was used for 'bramble' or 'blackberry', and cissoides means 'like ivy'. The name fits the plant because it has strong, trailing stems that scramble over other plants, so it looks and grows like an ivy-covered bramble.
