hedge nettle
- noun
:
ortiga de los setos
- In the moist corner of the garden, the hedge nettle thrived among the ferns and other wildflowers.
Examples
-
While exploring the forest, we discovered a patch of hedge nettle nestled beside a small stream.
-
She'd stay out here just long enough for that spooky little man to go his way, and though she had flowers enough, she gathered one last palm of hedge nettle, and stood, and could not see a thing.
Fiction book (1999) -
The gardener planted several hedge nettle to create a lush, green border in the shaded area of the yard.
Synonyms
A perennial herb often called hedge woundwort with strong, unpleasant-smelling leaves that grows in damp woods
A plant in the mint family that lives for many years and grows in wet places with pink-purple flowers
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is compositionally straightforward: 'hedge' (a row of shrubs) + 'nettle' (a plant) yields a plant associated with hedges, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a kind of plant. While exact botanical details (genus Stachys vs. true stinging nettles) are not predictable, the basic referent and meaning are transparent from the constituents.
Etymology
Hedge nettle may come from a simple picture: the word hedge shows it often grows in hedges or at the edge of woods, and nettle points to its nettle-like leaves and the strong smell when they are crushed. So the name helps you remember it is a common 'plant' that spreads along hedges and roadsides.
