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Glite Dictionary
genus Chinchona

genus Chinchona

9.9
A group of trees from the Andes whose bark is used to make medicine for malaria
  • noun
  • /ˈdʒɛnəs tʃɪnˈkoʊnə/
  • Specialized
translation icon : género Chinchona
  • The bark of the genus Chinchona was historically used to treat malaria.

Examples

  • The genus Chinchona is native to the Andean forests of South America.

  • Scientists are studying several species within the genus Chinchona for their pharmacological properties.

  • The genus Chinchona includes several species.

  • Did you know that genus Chinchona is native to South America?

  • Scientists are studying several species within the genus Chinchona for their pharmacological properties.

  • The genus Chinchona is native to the Andean forests of South America.

  • The bark of the genus Chinchona was historically used to treat malaria.

Synonyms

genus Cinchona
vsgenus Chinchona
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of South American trees whose bark gives quinine, a medicine for malaria

is the same name but spelled with a different initial letter

Surface Forms

genus Chinchona singular
genera Chinchona plural

Morphology

genus + chinchona

The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'genus' (a biological rank grouping related species) with 'Chinchona' (the name of a tree); together they denote the taxonomic group containing Chinchona species. This noun-noun taxonomic construction is compositional and common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would understand the MWE.

Etymology

Genus Chinchona comes from a story about the Countess of Chinchón in Peru: she was said to be cured of a bad 'fever' by the tree's bark, so people named the tree Chinchona after her. That bark later gave the medicine 'quinine', so today genus Chinchona means the group of trees whose bark was used to treat 'fever' and 'malaria'.