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Glite Dictionary
Solanum dulcamara

Solanum dulcamara

9.9
A poisonous climbing plant with purple flowers and bright red berries, also called bittersweet nightshade
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Solanum dulcamara
  • Children should be warned not to eat the berries of Solanum dulcamara, as they are highly toxic.

Examples

  • In the wetlands, Solanum dulcamara often forms dense tangles of climbing stems and leaves.

  • Gardeners sometimes remove Solanum dulcamara to control its spread as an invasive plant.

  • The Solanum dulcamara plant can be found in many gardens.

  • Be careful around Solanum dulcamara because it is poisonous.

  • Children should be warned not to eat the berries of Solanum dulcamara, as they are highly toxic.

  • Be careful around Solanum dulcamara because it is poisonous.

  • In the wetlands, Solanum dulcamara often forms dense tangles of climbing stems and leaves.

Synonyms

bittersweet
vsSolanum dulcamara
1 7.4

A wild vine or climbing shrub often with poisonous berries

is the specific poisonous Old World climbing species not any similar plant
woody nightshade
vsSolanum dulcamara
9.9

A poisonous climbing plant with purple flowers and red berries that often grows wild

is the scientific name used for the exact same plant
bittersweet nightshade
vsSolanum dulcamara
9.9

A climbing plant with violet flowers and red berries that is poisonous

is the species name rather than the common name
climbing nightshade
vsSolanum dulcamara
  • South African
9.8

A poisonous climbing plant with purple flowers and red berries

is the species name rather than a general weed label
poisonous nightshade
vsSolanum dulcamara
9.9

A plant with violet flowers and bright red berries that is very poisonous if eaten

is the botanical name used without stressing toxicity

Surface Forms

Solanum dulcamara singular
Solanum dulcamaras plural

Morphology

Solanum + dulcamara

This is a Latin scientific name (genus + species) where 'Solanum' is just a taxonomic label and 'dulcamara' is not a standard English word (and is absent from the provided dictionary). Even if a learner 'knows' these constituents, they do not provide the ordinary-language meaning (a poisonous climbing nightshade), and scientific binomials function as arbitrary labels across languages. Therefore the meaning is not derivable from the parts for a B1 learner.

Etymology

Solanum dulcamara gets its name from Latin: Solanum is the nightshade group and dulcamara means 'sweet' and 'bitter'. The red berries look sweet but are poisonous and can taste bitter, so the name helps you remember the plant is 'bittersweet' and dangerous.