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Glite Dictionary
butterfly weed

butterfly weed

7.4
A plant with bright orange flowers that attract butterflies
  • noun
  • /ˈbʌtərˌflaɪ wid/
  • US
translation icon : asclepia
  • Planting butterfly weed is a great way to support local wildlife and enhance the beauty of your landscape.
  • butterfly weed attracts

Examples

  • The butterfly weed is known for its vibrant orange flowers that draw in a variety of pollinators.

  • In my garden, the butterfly weed blooms brightly, attracting many butterflies during the summer.

  • Butterfly weed is drought-tolerant and thrives in full sunlight.

  • The bright orange flowers of butterfly weed attract monarchs and other butterflies to the garden.

  • We planted butterfly weed along the fence to support local pollinators.

  • The garden is filled with butterfly weed.

  • Have you seen the butterfly weeds blooming?

Synonyms

Asclepias tuberosa
vsbutterfly weed
  • Specialized
9.6

A plant that lives for many years with bright orange flowers that attract butterflies

is the common everyday name rather than the Latin term
pleurisy root
vsbutterfly weed
  • US
9.9

A North American plant with bright orange flowers used as a medicine

is focused on bright flowers and attraction of pollinators rather than medicine

Surface Forms

butterfly weed singular
butterfly weeds plural

Morphology

butterfly + weed

The compound 'butterfly weed' is transparently built from 'butterfly' + 'weed' and denotes a plant (weed) associated with butterflies — i.e., a wild plant that attracts or is frequented by butterflies. This noun+noun composition follows a common descriptive pattern (a type of plant named for a salient property) so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily infer the intended meaning, even if they may not know the exact species.

Etymology

The plant name butterfly weed comes from a simple picture: its bright orange flowers attract many butterflys, and people often called the easy-growing plant a 'weed'. That's why butterfly weed today means a plant known for drawing butterflies.