holly-leaved cherry
- noun
- US
- 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
1
8.7
A small evergreen shrub or tree with spiny leaves and white flowers
1
9.9
An evergreen bush or small tree with spiny thick leaves and edible fruit like a small plum
1
7.8
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'.