Skip to main content
silver tree

silver tree

9.8
A small South African tree with long shiny grey leaves
  • noun
  • South African
translation icon : árbol plateado
  • The slopes of Table Mountain are home to the silver tree, famous for its shimmering foliage.

Examples

  • Tourists are often captivated by the beauty of the silver tree in the Cape region.

  • The silver tree is native to South Africa.

  • Botanists study the silver tree for its unique adaptation to South Africa's climate.

  • Many silver trees thrive in the Cape region.

  • The slopes of Table Mountain are home to the silver tree, famous for its shimmering foliage.

  • Tourists are often captivated by the beauty of the silver tree in the Cape region.

  • Botanists study the silver tree for its unique adaptation to South Africa's climate.

Synonyms

Leucadendron argenteum
vssilver tree
  • South African
9.9

A small South African tree with long silvery leaves called the silver tree

is the common English name rather than the Latin scientific name

Surface Forms

silver tree singular
silver trees plural

Morphology

silver + tree

The meaning 'an Australian tree with silvery leaves' is directly and compositionally derived from 'silver' (silvery colour) + 'tree' (a plant), so the phrase is a straightforward descriptive compound. This adjective-noun pattern is cross-linguistically common and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.

Etymology

Silver tree: The plant name silver tree comes from the tree's long, silky leaves that shine like silver in the sun. So the name simply means 'a tree with silvery leaves', which is why it refers to the small South African tree.