Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
clustered lady's slipper

clustered lady's slipper

9.9
A wild orchid from western North America that grows in small groups with short stems and brownish pouch-like flowers
  • noun
  • /ˈklʌstərd ˈleɪdiz ˈslɪpər/
  • US
translation icon : zapatilla de dama agrupada
  • The clustered lady's slipper thrives in the moist woodlands of British Columbia.

Examples

  • Researchers discovered a patch of clustered lady's slipper orchids along the hiking trail.

  • I spotted a clustered lady's slipper during my hike yesterday.

  • He photographed the delicate flowers of the clustered lady's slipper during his fieldwork.

  • The clustered lady's slipper is a rare sight in the wild.

  • Researchers discovered a patch of clustered lady's slipper orchids along the hiking trail.

  • He photographed the delicate flowers of the clustered lady's slipper during his fieldwork.

  • The clustered lady's slipper thrives in the moist woodlands of British Columbia.

Synonyms

slipper orchid
vsclustered lady's slipper
1 9.2

A wild orchid with a pouch-shaped lower petal that is hard to grow in gardens

is described by its specific clustered stems and purple-mottled pouches
Cypripedium fasciculatum
vsclustered lady's slipper
  • Specialized
9.9

An orchid from western North America with short stems in groups and pouch-like flowers spotted with purple

is the common name form for the same species rather than the scientific name
lady's-slipper
vsclustered lady's slipper
  • US
9.6

A wildflower with a pouch-shaped lower petal that grows in shaded woods

is a specific western species with clustered stems and mottled pouches
Cypripedium
vsclustered lady's slipper
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of orchid plants with slipper-shaped flowers

is one specific species within that genus not the whole group

Surface Forms

clustered lady's slipper singular
clustered lady's slippers plural

Morphology

clustered + lady's + slipper

While the adjective 'clustered' is transparent, the noun phrase 'lady's slipper' is a lexicalized botanical name for an orchid and its meaning ('a wild orchid') cannot be derived from the literal words 'lady' and 'slipper'. A B1 learner who knows the constituents would likely not infer the plant sense (they might imagine a female's shoe), so the overall expression is not compositional.

Etymology

Clustered lady's slipper gets its name from how several flowers grow close together and from each flower's pouch that looks like a small 'slipper'. The word clustered shows the group of blooms and lady's slipper describes the shoe-like pouch, so the name means a wild orchid with groups of slipper-shaped flowers.