calabar-bean vine

9.9

A tropical African climbing plant that makes beans used in medicine and once used as a poison

noun

: vid de frijol calabar

The seeds of the calabar-bean vine have been used in traditional African medicine for centuries.

Examples

Researchers are studying toxins produced by the calabar-bean vine for their potential medical applications.
The calabar-bean vine is native to tropical Africa.
She learned about the calabar-bean vine during a lecture on poisonous plants of Africa.
Many researchers study the calabar-bean vine for its medicinal properties.
Researchers are studying toxins produced by the calabar-bean vine for their potential medical applications.
The seeds of the calabar-bean vine have been used in traditional African medicine for centuries.
Many researchers study the calabar-bean vine for its medicinal properties.

Synonyms

Physostigma venenosum

vscalabar-bean vine

Specialized

9.9

A tropical West African climbing plant that makes Calabar beans with the poison physostigmine

is known for medical uses and for historical use as an ordeal poison

Surface Forms

calabar-bean vine singular

calabar-bean vines plural

Morphology

calabar-bean + vine

The compound follows a transparent noun+noun composition: 'vine' clearly denotes a climbing plant and 'calabar-bean vine' plausibly means a vine associated with calabar-beans. However, 'calabar-bean' is a rare, culture-specific referent (a poisonous/medicinal bean named for a place) whose precise meaning would not be predictable to a B1 learner from its parts alone, so the overall interpretation is only partially derivable.

Etymology

Calabar-bean vine comes from Calabar, a place in West Africa where the plant's beans were used as a strong medicine and, in old 'ordeals' or trials, as a poison to decide if someone was guilty. So today calabar-bean vine means the vine that makes those dangerous beans.