genus Lathyrus
- noun
- Specialized
- Peas and vetchlings of the genus Lathyrus are common in temperate meadows.
Examples
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Many plants in the genus Lathyrus are known for their climbing ability.
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Several species within the genus Lathyrus are valued for their ornamental flowers.
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The genus Lathyrus includes both edible and inedible species.
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The genus Lathyrus includes several species of wild peas.
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Many plants in the genus Lathyrus are known for their climbing ability.
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Peas and vetchlings of the genus Lathyrus are common in temperate meadows.
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Several species within the genus Lathyrus are valued for their ornamental flowers.
Synonyms
A climbing plant in the pea family with small, attractive flowers
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is directly compositional: 'genus' names a biological rank and 'Lathyrus' is the name of that plant group, so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to the taxonomic group of Lathyrus plants. Scientific naming conventions are cross-linguistically familiar, making this meaning immediately recoverable from the constituents.
Etymology
Genus Lathyrus comes from an old Greek word that meant 'pea', because many plants in this group have pea-like flowers and pods and climb like pea plants. So genus Lathyrus is the name used for this group of climbing, pea-like herbs.