spathe flower
- noun
- /ˈspeɪθ ˈflaʊər/
:
flor de espatifilo
- The spathe flower is admired for its elegant white blooms and air-purifying qualities.
Examples
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She placed a pot of spathe flowers in the living room to brighten the space.
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Many gardeners recommend the spathe flower for beginners because it is easy to care for.
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The spathe flower blooms beautifully in the spring.
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Look at my spathe flower!
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Many gardeners recommend the spathe flower for beginners because it is easy to care for.
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The spathe flower is admired for its elegant white blooms and air-purifying qualities.
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She placed a pot of spathe flowers in the living room to brighten the space.
Synonyms
A tropical plant often kept indoors with white or green flower-like leaves and a sweet smell
A green houseplant with shiny leaves and a white leaf around its flowers
Surface Forms
Morphology
If a learner already knows the technical noun 'spathe' (a bract beneath a flower cluster) then 'spathe flower' is transparently compositional: it denotes a flower characterized by or associated with a spathe. The noun+noun construction simply specifies a type of flower, a pattern that is straightforward and cross-linguistically common, so the meaning is recoverable from the parts.
Etymology
The noun spathe flower comes from the word spathe, a large leaf-like cover that wraps the flower like a white hood and makes the bloom look like one big, pretty flower. That's why the name is used for the plant with this cover and pretty blooms, a 'decorative plant'.
