Sisymbrium barbarea
- noun
- Specialized
:
Sisymbrium barbarea
- The bright yellow flowers of Sisymbrium barbarea can easily be spotted along riverbanks.
Examples
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Farmers often encounter Sisymbrium barbarea invading their fields in early spring.
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The garden was filled with Sisymbrium barbarea this spring.
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Botanists sometimes debate whether Sisymbrium barbarea belongs in its own genus or in Sisymbrium.
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Look at Sisymbrium barbarea!
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Farmers often encounter Sisymbrium barbarea invading their fields in early spring.
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The bright yellow flowers of Sisymbrium barbarea can easily be spotted along riverbanks.
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The garden was filled with Sisymbrium barbarea this spring.
Synonyms
A common wild plant with small yellow flowers that grows in fields and gardens
A leafy plant with yellow flowers eaten in winter salads
A weed with yellow flowers that often grows in fields and along roads
A wild weed with small yellow flowers and spicy leaves
Surface Forms
Morphology
The term is a Linnaean binomial combining two Latin taxonomic names; a learner who knows that both elements refer to plant genera can reasonably infer it denotes a particular plant species. However, the specific properties (e.g. that it is noxious, has yellow flowers, or is called winter cress) are not predictable from the parts because scientific names function as labels rather than compositional phrases. The cross-linguistic convention of Latin binomials gives partial predictability but not full transparency.
Etymology
Sisymbrium barbarea may come from old Latin plant names: Sisymbrium was a name for small, mustard-like plants and barbarea was the common name for 'winter cress', a wild, yellow cress. So the name gives the image of a small yellow cress and helps you remember this plant with bright yellow flowers.
