pinwheel flower
- noun
- Indian
:
flor de espiral
- The garden featured a rare pinwheel flower that bloomed each evening with a sweet fragrance.
Examples
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The glossy leaves of the pinwheel flower add an elegant touch to tropical landscapes.
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Botanists collected samples of the pinwheel flower during their expedition in Thailand.
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The pinwheel flower blooms beautifully at night.
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Have you seen the pinwheel flowers in the garden?
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The garden featured a rare pinwheel flower that bloomed each evening with a sweet fragrance.
-
Botanists collected samples of the pinwheel flower during their expedition in Thailand.
-
The glossy leaves of the pinwheel flower add an elegant touch to tropical landscapes.
Synonyms
A tropical shrub with glossy leaves and white flowers that smell sweet and open at night
A tropical shrub with shiny leaves and fragrant flowers that open at night
A tropical shrub with shiny leaves and fragrant flowers that open at night
A tropical shrub with glossy leaves and fragrant white flowers that open at night
A tropical shrub with glossy leaves and fragrant white, crinkled flowers
A tropical shrub with shiny leaves and white flowers that smell sweet
A tropical shrub with shiny leaves and sweet-smelling flowers that open at night
A tropical shrub with shiny leaves and scented night flowers from northern India to Thailand
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound 'pinwheel flower' is compositionally transparent: it denotes a type of flower associated with or resembling a pinwheel, so a learner who knows 'pinwheel' and 'flower' can infer it is a flower with pinwheel-like qualities. Specific botanical details (night-blooming, glossy leaves) are not derivable from the constituents, but the basic category and likely appearance are predictable and cross-linguistically plausible.
Etymology
The name pinwheel flower comes from the way the flower's wavy petals spread out like a child's pinwheel. So the name helps you remember a tropical shrub whose flowers 'open at night' and give off a sweet smell.
