Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
milkwort family

milkwort family

8.6
A group of plants with flowers that includes trees, shrubs, and herbs
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : familia de las poligaláceas
  • The milkwort family contains over a thousand species of plants worldwide.

Examples

  • Many members of the milkwort family have colorful, unique flowers.

  • Botanists carefully catalogued the species belonging to the milkwort family.

  • The milkwort family includes many unique species.

  • Many plants from the milkwort family thrive in diverse environments.

  • Many members of the milkwort family produce vibrant flowers that attract pollinators.

  • The milkwort family is known for its wide variety of herbs and shrubs found in many regions.

  • Research into the milkwort family has revealed significant ecological roles for several species.

Synonyms

Polygalaceae
vsmilkwort family
  • Specialized
9.9

A family of flowering plants including trees, shrubs, and herbs

is the common informal name used instead of the formal family name

Surface Forms

milkwort family singular
milkwort families plural

Morphology

milkwort + family

The noun + family pattern is a regular compositional taxonomic construction: combining 'milkwort' (a plant name) with 'family' transparently yields 'the family of plants that milkwort belongs to'. This is a common and cross-linguistically familiar naming pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would be able to infer the meaning.

Etymology

Milkwort family comes from an old belief that the parts milk and wort named a plant thought to 'help cows give more milk'. So today, although people no longer think it makes milk, milkwort family simply means a family of flowering plants.