purple nightshade

9.9

A wild plant with silvery leaves, violet, blue or white flowers and round berries used to make milk into cheese

noun

: mala madre

I admired the silvery leaves and delicate flowers of the purple nightshade in the botanical garden.

Examples

The fields were dotted with purple nightshade among the grasses.
Farmers sometimes use the berries of purple nightshade to curdle milk for cheese.
The purple nightshade grows abundantly in the wild.
Have you ever seen a purple nightshade plant?
The purple nightshade grows in abundance along the roadside, its vibrant flowers attracting many insects.
Farmers in the region are cautious of purple nightshade, as its berries can be harmful if ingested.
She learned in her botany class that purple nightshade is often mistaken for other similar plants.

Synonyms

Solanum elaeagnifolium

vspurple nightshade

Specialized

9.9

A plant with silvery leaves, light blue or white flowers, and round berries sometimes used to curdle milk

is the everyday descriptive name rather than the scientific label

silver-leaved nettle

vspurple nightshade

9.9

A plant with silvery leaves, small blue or white flowers, and a round berry used to curdle milk

focuses on the plant but uses a common descriptive phrase instead

silver-leaved nightshade

vspurple nightshade

9.9

A wild plant with silvery leaves and round berries that people use to curdle milk

mentions berry use without stressing frequency of traditional use

silverleaf nightshade

vspurple nightshade

9.9

A wild plant with silvery leaves and violet or white flowers that can be poisonous to animals

states the plant generally without highlighting its perennial habit

white horse nettle

vspurple nightshade

Specialized

9.9

A wild plant with silvery leaves and violet, blue, or white flowers that has round berries used to curdle milk

gives the same plant description but without specifying the variant name

prairie berry

vspurple nightshade

9.9

A wild plant with silvery leaves and round berries that people use to curdle milk

is the general plant description rather than a regional label

trompillo

vspurple nightshade

Specialized

9.9

A wild plant with silvery leaves and blue or white flowers that makes berries used to curdle milk

mentions the curdling use but does not stress how common it is

Surface Forms

purple nightshade singular

purple nightshades plural

Morphology

purple + nightshade

This is a straightforward adjective+noun compound: 'purple' modifies 'nightshade', so a learner who knows 'purple' (the color) and 'nightshade' (a kind of plant) can infer it is a species/variety of nightshade with purple coloration. Color + noun compounds are highly compositional and cross-linguistically common, so the meaning is immediately derivable for a B1 learner who knows the constituents.

Etymology

The plant name purple nightshade paints a simple picture: purple for its violet flowers and nightshade from an old name for plants with dark berries that could make people 'sleepy' or 'sick'. So the name tells you it is a nightshade plant with purple blooms and small round berries, the kind farmers once used for things like curdling milk.