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Glite Dictionary
spreading fleabane

spreading fleabane

9.9
A low bushy wildflower with hairy leaves and small white, pink, or purple flowers
  • noun
  • US
translation icon : fleabane expansivo
  • The rocky slopes were dotted with spreading fleabane in full bloom.

Examples

  • We identified several wildflowers, including spreading fleabane, during our hike.

  • Gardeners appreciate spreading fleabane for its delicate white and lavender flowers.

  • The spreading fleabane blooms beautifully in the summer.

  • You can find spreading fleabane in many gardens across California.

  • Gardeners appreciate spreading fleabane for its delicate white and lavender flowers.

  • The rocky slopes were dotted with spreading fleabane in full bloom.

  • You can find spreading fleabane in many gardens across California.

Synonyms

Erigeron divergens
vsspreading fleabane
  • Specialized
9.9

A bushy wildflower from western North America with hairy leaves and single heads with narrow white, pink, or purple petals

is the common everyday name for the same plant

Surface Forms

spreading fleabane singular
spreading fleabanes plural

Morphology

spreading + fleabane

The phrase is a straightforward adjective + noun combination: 'spreading' describes an extending/growth habit and 'fleabane' names a plant, so the meaning 'a fleabane that spreads' is directly recoverable from the constituents. This compositional, non-idiomatic pattern is common cross-linguistically and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.

Etymology

Spreading fleabane comes from two simple ideas: fleabane was a name for plants people used in houses to 'keep fleas away', and spreading describes how the plant grows low and wide with many branches. So the name tells you both the plant's look and its old use.