purple loco
- noun
- US
:
loco morado
- Ranchers are concerned because livestock sometimes graze on purple loco, which can be toxic.
Examples
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We spotted a cluster of purple loco blooming along the desert trail.
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The wildflowers in this region include the colorful purple loco and many other native species.
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Look at that purple loco!
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I saw a purple loco today.
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Ranchers are concerned because livestock sometimes graze on purple loco, which can be toxic.
-
We spotted a cluster of purple loco blooming along the desert trail.
-
The wildflowers in this region include the colorful purple loco and many other native species.
Synonyms
A small plant that grows in clumps with purple, pink, or white flowers in the southwestern United States
A plant with purple, pink, or white flowers that can poison farm animals
Surface Forms
Morphology
purple + loco
Although 'purple' is fully transparent as a color modifier, the noun 'loco' is not given a lexical meaning here (and as a plant name it is a lexicalized term related to 'locoweed'), so the overall referent (a tufted locoweed species) cannot be derived from the parts. A B1 learner who knows the literal meanings of the constituents would not predict the botanical sense (and might even misinterpret 'loco' via Spanish 'crazy'), so the expression is idiomatic/lexicalized rather than compositional.
Etymology
Purple loco is a wild plant named for its purple flowers and for the word loco, which comes from Spanish and means 'crazy'. Ranchers called it that because animals that ate it often acted strangely or became sick, so the name helps you remember it is a poisonous plant.
