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prince's-plume

prince's-plume

9.9
A perennial plant with leathery blue-green divided leaves and thick yellow flower spikes
  • noun
  • /ˈprɪnsɪz plum/
  • US
translation icon : pluma del desierto
  • She planted prince's-plume in her xeriscape garden for its showy flower spikes.

Examples

  • The arid landscape was brightened by the golden blooms of prince's-plume near the canyon trail.

  • Botanists studied a stand of prince's-plume growing in the desert southwest.

  • The prince's-plume blooms beautifully in the desert.

  • I saw a prince's-plume in the botanical garden.

  • In spring, the prince's-plume adds vibrant yellow spires to the dry desert landscape.

  • Many gardeners choose prince's-plume for its striking flowers and ability to thrive in arid conditions.

  • The bright yellow flowers of the prince's-plume attract a variety of pollinators during the blooming season.

Synonyms

desert plume
vsprince's-plume
  • US
9.5

A plant that lives for several years with thick yellow flower spikes and blue-green divided leaves

is identical but stresses occasional placement in a different genus
Cleome pinnata
vsprince's-plume
  • Specialized
9.9

A plant with blue-green leaves and tall yellow flower spikes that lives many years and grows in dry places

is the general common description used outside strict scientific naming
Stanleya pinnata
vsprince's-plume
  • Specialized
9.9

A plant that lives for many years with blue-green divided leaves and tall spikes of yellow flowers

is placed in a different botanical group despite similar appearance
Stanleya
vsprince's-plume
  • Specialized
9.9

A North American plant called prince's plume with tall spikes of bright yellow flowers

is a single perennial species rather than an entire plant group

Surface Forms

Morphology

prince's-plume = prince + plume (semi-transparent) = prince + plume

The compound is structurally clear, but its use as a fixed plant name makes the referent partly conventional rather than fully predictable.

Etymology

Prince's-plume comes from plume meaning 'feather' and prince, because the plant's thick, plume-like yellow spikes look like a royal feather in the dry landscape. So the name makes it easy to remember this perennial by its large, showy flower spikes.