Skip to main content
orchidaceous plant

orchidaceous plant

8.0
A plant with unusually shaped, colorful flowers often grown in pots
  • noun
  • /ˌɔrkɪˈdeɪʃəs plænt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : planta orquídea
  • The greenhouse had a stunning collection of orchidaceous plants from around the world.

Examples

  • She specializes in the care and cultivation of rare orchidaceous plants.

  • The orchidaceous plant bloomed beautifully this spring.

  • Many orchidaceous plants require specific conditions to thrive and produce their colorful flowers.

  • Look at that orchidaceous plant!

  • The greenhouse had a stunning collection of orchidaceous plants from around the world.

  • She specializes in the care and cultivation of rare orchidaceous plants.

  • Many orchidaceous plants require specific conditions to thrive and produce their colorful flowers.

Synonyms

orchid
vsorchidaceous plant
106 3.9

A plant with unusual colorful flowers that often last a long time

is the same meaning but uses a more formal adjective-based name

Surface Forms

Morphology

orchidaceous + plant

The noun phrase is a regular adjective+noun composition: 'orchidaceous' (of or like an orchid / belonging to Orchidaceae) modifies 'plant', so the meaning 'a plant of the orchid family' is directly derivable from the parts. Although 'orchidaceous' is low-frequency, the morphological and syntactic pattern is transparent and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituent meanings would understand it.

Etymology

Orchidaceous plant comes from the old Greek word orchis, a name for plants whose roots looked like small round bulbs. That's why orchidaceous plant means a plant from the 'orchid family', known for unusual, beautiful flowers.