pitch apple
- noun
- /ˈpɪtʃ ˈæpəl/
- US
:
manzano de pitch
- The large leathery leaves of the pitch apple make it ideal for providing dense shade.
Examples
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Visitors admired the pitch apple for its beautiful, waxy flowers and broad green leaves.
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The pitch apple is often grown as an ornamental plant in tropical gardens.
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The pitch apple tree is known for its beautiful flowers.
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Do you have a pitch apple in your garden?
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The pitch apple is often grown as an ornamental plant in tropical gardens.
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The large leathery leaves of the pitch apple make it ideal for providing dense shade.
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Visitors admired the pitch apple for its beautiful, waxy flowers and broad green leaves.
Synonyms
A tropical evergreen tree with thick shiny leaves and rose or white flowers used in gardens
Surface Forms
Morphology
The parts 'pitch' (a tar-like substance) and 'apple' (an edible fruit/tree) do not transparently combine to yield the botanical sense of a specific tropical tree with leathery leaves and white or rose-coloured flowers. This is a lexicalized common name for a plant; its meaning is language- and culture-specific and would not be reliably inferred by a B1 learner who only knows the literal meanings of the constituents.
Etymology
The noun pitch apple may come from the tree's sticky sap, like pitch, and from its round, apple-like fruit or shiny leaves, like apple. So imagining an 'apple' covered in 'pitch' helps you remember that pitch apple is the name of this tropical tree.
