holly-leaved cherry
- noun
- US
:
cereza de hoja de acebo
- The holly-leaved cherry thrives in the chaparral regions of California and provides food for local wildlife.
Examples
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Its dense foliage makes the holly-leaved cherry a popular choice for natural hedges.
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Native Americans traditionally used the fruit of the holly-leaved cherry in their diet.
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The holly-leaved cherry blooms beautifully in spring.
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Many gardeners choose the holly-leaved cherry for its unique foliage.
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Many gardeners choose the holly-leaved cherry for its unique foliage.
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The holly-leaved cherry thrives in the chaparral regions of California and provides food for local wildlife.
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Native Americans traditionally used the fruit of the holly-leaved cherry in their diet.
Synonyms
An evergreen bush or small tree with spiny thick leaves and edible fruit like a small plum
A small evergreen shrub or tree with spiny leaves and white flowers
An evergreen shrub or small tree from Catalina Island that produces small dark red edible fruit
Surface Forms
Morphology
holly-leaved + cherry
The phrase is compositional: 'holly-leaved' means having leaves like a holly and 'cherry' names the tree/shrub, so a learner who knows 'holly', 'leaf' and 'cherry' can infer it denotes a cherry with holly‑like leaves. This adjectival + noun botanical naming pattern is regular and cross‑linguistically common, making the overall meaning transparent to B1 learners.
Etymology
The name holly-leaved cherry comes from how the plant looks: it has hard, spiny leaves like holly-leaved and small red fruits like a cherry. So the name helps you remember it is a green, wild 'shrub' or 'small tree' that makes 'fruit'.
