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Glite Dictionary
elephant tree

elephant tree

9.6
A small tree or bush from the dry US southwest with a spicy smell, divided leaves and small white flowers
  • noun
  • US
translation icon : árbol elefante
  • The elephant tree has clusters of small white flowers that attract many pollinators.

Examples

  • The unique spicy odor of the elephant tree filled the air as we walked by.

  • They looked at Lawrence of Arabia and our two camels, who were lying down under the sparse shade of the Elephant tree.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • In the desert, the elephant tree provides essential shade for wandering animals.

Synonyms

Bursera microphylla
vselephant tree
  • Specialized
9.9

A small desert tree with a twisted trunk, spicy smell, and small white flowers

is the common English name used in everyday speech

Surface Forms

elephant tree singular
elephant trees plural

Morphology

elephant + tree

The compound 'elephant tree' is partly compositional: knowing 'elephant' and 'tree' gives a vague idea that the plant is somehow associated with or reminiscent of an elephant (size, shape, or name origin). However, the specific botanical sense (a particular small desert shrub with a spicy odor and odd-pinnate leaves) cannot be predicted from the constituents alone, so a B1 learner would only form a rough guess rather than the precise meaning.

Etymology

Elephant tree probably gets its name from the plant's thick, rounded trunk and rough grey bark that look like an elephant's leg or skin. Because the trunk often swells to store water, that animal-like image led people to call it an 'elephant' tree and is why the name fits today.