Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
☠️ A toxic shrub 🌳 A desert tree
mustard tree

mustard tree

9.9
A small evergreen tree from dry regions whose branches are used as natural toothbrushes and whose shoots are animal food
  • noun
  • Indian
translation icon : árbol mostaza
  • The local farmers often use the branches of the mustard tree to make natural toothbrushes.

Examples

  • Every day, Mary prayed for him to come... as she prayed now, sitting beneath the shade of the mustard tree, struggling with questions beyond her ability to understand.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • "Now, sitting beneath the mustard tree, Mary buried her face in her arms.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • " One Mary sat alone beneath a mustard tree, her hands covering her face.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • In many arid regions, the leaves of the mustard tree provide essential fodder for livestock.

  • During the dry season, the mustard tree thrives, offering shade and sustenance to local wildlife.

Synonyms

Salvadora persica
vsmustard tree
  • Specialized
9.9

A small evergreen shrub or tree whose twigs people use as natural toothbrushes and whose shoots camels eat

is the general shrub known for fibrous branches used for teeth cleaning and fodder
toothbrush tree
vsmustard tree
9.9

A small evergreen tree whose twigs people use to clean their teeth

is the same plant but called for its toothbrush use rather than scientific name

Surface Forms

mustard tree singular
mustard trees plural

Morphology

mustard + tree

The compound 'mustard tree' is compositionally regular: a noun modifier 'mustard' specifying the type of the head noun 'tree', so a B1 learner who knows both words will infer it is a kind of tree associated with mustard (e.g., producing or resembling mustard). Specific botanical details (genus, uses) are not predictable, but the basic referent as a tree related to mustard is directly derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

Mustard tree was used for the small Salvadora shrub because its leaves and fruits have a sharp, mustard-like taste and its fibrous branches were used as natural 'toothbrushes' while shoots fed animals. That's why the name links the spicy taste to a useful tree in dry areas.