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Vicia orobus

Vicia orobus

9.9
A plant that lives for more than one year, grows in European grasslands, and can poison farm animals
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : vicia orobus
  • Farmers should be cautious, as Vicia orobus can be poisonous to grazing animals.

Examples

  • The Vicia orobus plant can be harmful to cattle.

  • Botanists identified the plant as Vicia orobus due to its distinct flowers and leaves.

  • Vicia orobus is often found in meadows and grasslands across western Europe.

  • Farmers should be cautious of Vicia orobus in their fields.

  • Farmers should be careful, as Vicia orobus is toxic to livestock.

  • Vicia orobus can cause serious health issues if ingested by animals.

  • It is important to recognize Vicia orobus in pastures, as it may be harmful to grazing animals.

Synonyms

bitter betch
vsVicia orobus
  • UK
9.9

A European plant like a pea that lives many years and can poison animals

is toxic mainly to farm animals rather than generally to all species

Surface Forms

Vicia orobus singular

Morphology

Vicia + orobus

The first element 'Vicia' signals a genus of vetches so a learner who knows that term would infer this is a plant name, but the second element 'orobus' is not an English lexical item and provides no transparent semantic contribution to the species-level properties. Binomial Latin names require taxonomic knowledge to yield the specific sense (European perennial, toxic to livestock), so the full meaning is only partially recoverable by a B1 learner.

Etymology

Vicia orobus comes from the Latin word Vicia, meaning the 'vetch' or 'pea-like plant', and an old Greek word orobus that also named wild vetch. So the name simply labels this small, pea-like plant and helps you remember it can be 'poisonous' to farm animals.