bean trefoil

9.9

A shrub with leaves in three parts, yellow flowers, and curving seed pods that smells bad when crushed

noun

: trebol de frijol

Crushing the leaves of bean trefoil releases a strong, unpleasant odor.

Examples

After flowering, the bean trefoil develops distinctive backward curving seed pods.
The small bean trefoil in the garden caught my attention with its bright yellow flowers.
The bean trefoil grows abundantly in this region.
You can identify a bean trefoil by its yellow flowers.
Crushing the leaves of bean trefoil releases a strong, unpleasant odor.
After flowering, the bean trefoil develops distinctive backward curving seed pods.
The small bean trefoil in the garden caught my attention with its bright yellow flowers.

Synonyms

stinking bean trefoil

vsbean trefoil

9.9

A small bush with three leaves and yellow flowers that smells bad when crushed

specifies pods curve backward rather than simply being curved

Anagyris foetida

vsbean trefoil

Specialized

9.9

A Mediterranean shrub with three-part leaves and yellow flowers that smells very bad when crushed

is the same shrub without restricting it to Mediterranean locations

Surface Forms

bean trefoil singular

bean trefoils plural

Morphology

bean + trefoil

The compound 'bean trefoil' is transparently composed from 'bean' (a legume seed/pod) + 'trefoil' (a trifoliate clover/pea-family plant), so a learner who knows both words will infer it refers to a pea/bean-family plant with three-part leaves and beanlike pods. Detailed botanical attributes (e.g., smell or curved pod shape) are specific encyclopedic details but do not prevent the core meaning being directly derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

Bean trefoil comes from a simple picture: trefoil means 'three leaves' and bean points to its bean-shaped seed pods. So the name helps you remember a small plant with three-part leaves and curved-back, bean-like pods.