silkweed

9.9

A plant with milky juice and seed pods that release fluffy seeds

noun
/ˈsɪlkˌwiːd/

: algodoncillo

Monarch butterflies often lay their eggs on silkweed because it serves as food for their larvae.

Examples

In late summer, the silkweed pods split open and release seeds carried by the wind.
The field was dotted with silkweed plants bursting with fluffy seeds.
The silkweed grows abundantly in the fields.
Have you ever seen a silkweed plant?
In late summer, the silkweed pods split open and release seeds carried by the wind.
Monarch butterflies often lay their eggs on silkweed because it serves as food for their larvae.
The field was dotted with silkweed plants bursting with fluffy seeds.

Synonyms

milkweed

vssilkweed

7 7.9

A plant with milky sap and pods that release seeds with silky hairs

is the common name equivalent to the formal genus label

Asclepias

vssilkweed

Specialized

9.9

A group of flowering plants with milky sap called milkweeds

is the common, nontechnical name used for those plants

asclepiad

vssilkweed

Specialized

9.9

A plant with milky sap and showy flowers like milkweed

is narrower, applying specifically to that single genus rather than the whole family

Compounds

purple silkweed

9.9

A plant that lives for many years and has pink-purple flowers attracting butterflies

Surface Forms

silkweed singular

silkweeds plural

Morphology

silkweed = silk + weed (transparent) = silk + weed

The compound 'silkweed' is directly interpretable as a 'weed' characterized by silk-like tufts, so learners knowing the components can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Silkweed is a compound of silk and weed. The silk part refers to the soft, fluffy threads on the seeds and the weed part means 'wild plant', like the related and familiar milkweed. So, silkweed is a plant whose pods open to release 'silky' tufts that help the seeds float on the wind.