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Glite Dictionary
lizard's-tail family

lizard's-tail family

9.9
A group of herbs that have a strong smell and live for many years
  • noun
  • /ˈlɪzərdz teɪl ˈfæmɪli/
  • Specialized
translation icon : familia de las saururáceas
  • Houttuynia cordata, a member of the lizard's-tail family, is valued for its medicinal properties.

Examples

  • The native wetlands are home to many plants in the lizard's-tail family.

  • Botanists often study the unique characteristics of the lizard's-tail family in their field research.

  • The lizard's-tail family includes several unique species.

  • Have you ever seen a member of the lizard's-tail family?

  • Houttuynia cordata, a member of the lizard's-tail family, is valued for its medicinal properties.

  • Botanists often study the unique characteristics of the lizard's-tail family in their field research.

  • The native wetlands are home to many plants in the lizard's-tail family.

Synonyms

family Saururaceae
vslizard's-tail family
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of long-lived scented herbs that grow in wetlands

is identical in meaning but written as the bare scientific name without the rank word
Saururaceae
vslizard's-tail family
  • Specialized
9.9

A family of aromatic herbs that live for many years like Houttuynia

is the same in meaning but written with the full phrase including the rank word

Surface Forms

lizard's-tail family singular
lizard's-tail families plural

Morphology

lizard's-tail + family

The expression is a straightforward composition of the plant name 'lizard's-tail' and the noun 'family', meaning a taxonomic grouping related to that plant; if a learner knows both constituents they can infer it denotes the family of species associated with lizard's-tail. The 'X family' scientific naming pattern is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so the overall meaning is predictable rather than idiomatic.

Etymology

The plant name lizard's-tail family comes from the way these plants have long, thin flower spikes that hang like a lizard's tail, so the name now means a 'family' of plants with that tail-like flower.