fire pink

9.9

A small wildflower with bright red notched petals that grows each year in eastern North America

noun
/ˈfaɪər pɪŋk/

: clavel del aire

We spotted several fire pinks blooming along the nature trail in early summer.

Examples

The fire pink stands out in the woodland with its brilliant red flowers.
The fire pink blooms in late spring.
Gardeners value fire pink for its ability to attract hummingbirds.
In my garden, I planted several fire pinks.
The garden was filled with vibrant wildflowers, including the striking fire pink with its bright red petals.
During spring, the fire pink blooms brightly in the meadows, attracting many butterflies and bees.
In her flower bed, she planted several fire pink plants to add a splash of color next to the yellow daffodils.

Synonyms

Silene virginica

vsfire pink

Specialized

9.9

A plant that lives for many years with bright red, notched flowers native to eastern North America

is the common English name for the same perennial plant

Surface Forms

fire pink singular

fire pinks plural

Morphology

fire + pink

This is a straightforward noun–noun compound where 'fire' modifies 'pink' to indicate a fiery (bright red) variety of the pink (Dianthus) flower, so the meaning ‘a pink with bright red, fire‑like flowers’ is directly derivable from the constituents. Such compositional plant names follow regular English compounding patterns and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.

Etymology

Fire pink may come from its bright, red flowers and from pink, an old name for small flowers with notched petal edges. So the picture of a flower as red as fire with little cut or 'notched' petals helps explain why people call this plant 'fire pink' today.