cormous plant

9.1

A plant that grows from a short thick underground stem that stores food

noun
/ˈkɔrməs plænt/

Specialized

: planta cormosa

The crocus is a well-known example of a cormous plant that blooms in early spring.

Examples

Many gardeners choose to plant cormous plants for their colorful and reliable flowers.
After flowering, a cormous plant uses its corm to store energy for the next growing season.
The cormous plant thrives in moist soil.
Many cormous plants bloom in the spring.
The crocus is a well-known example of a cormous plant that blooms in early spring.
After flowering, a cormous plant uses its corm to store energy for the next growing season.
Many gardeners choose to plant cormous plants for their colorful and reliable flowers.

Surface Forms

cormous plant singular

cormous plants plural

Morphology

cormous + plant

The phrase is a simple adjective+noun combination where 'cormous' means 'having corms' and 'plant' means a photosynthetic organism, so the overall meaning ('a plant that grows from a corm') is directly derivable from the constituents. This follows regular English morphological composition (adjective modifying noun) and would be transparent to a learner who already knows the meanings of both words.

Etymology

Cormous plant comes from the word corm, a short, thick stem under the ground that stores food, so a cormous plant is a plant that grows from a corm and uses it to survive and bloom later.