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meadow saxifrage

meadow saxifrage

9.9
A low plant that lives for many years with small white flower clusters in meadows
  • noun
  • UK
translation icon : saxífraga de pradera
  • Gardeners value meadow saxifrage for its delicate white flowers and ability to thrive in poor soil.

Examples

  • The meadow saxifrage blooms beautifully in spring.

  • I spotted a meadow saxifrage while hiking in the Alps.

  • A patch of meadow saxifrage brightened the edge of the woodland in spring.

  • Botanists recorded an increase in meadow saxifrage populations following restoration of the grassland.

  • A patch of meadow saxifrage brightened the edge of the woodland in spring.

  • Gardeners value meadow saxifrage for its delicate white flowers and ability to thrive in poor soil.

  • Botanists recorded an increase in meadow saxifrage populations following restoration of the grassland.

Synonyms

Saxifraga granulata
vsmeadow saxifrage
  • Specialized
9.9

A European perennial plant with a rosette of leaves and small clusters of white flowers

is the common everyday name for the same European perennial species

Surface Forms

Morphology

meadow + saxifrage

The phrase denotes a saxifrage associated with meadows, so its meaning is compositionally derived from 'meadow' (habitat) + 'saxifrage' (plant). This follows a common noun–noun naming pattern that is cross-linguistically familiar, allowing a B1 learner who knows both constituents to infer the meaning.

Etymology

The name meadow saxifrage combines meadow and saxifrage. One popular story says saxifrage means 'rock-breaker' because some saxifrages grow in rock cracks, and the meadow part shows this kind grows in grass fields, so the name helps you picture a small white-flowered plant living in a meadow.