threadleaf groundsel
- noun
- Specialized
:
senecio de hojas en hilo
- Ranchers must keep their cattle away from fields of threadleaf groundsel due to its toxicity.
Examples
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The distinctive yellow flowers of the threadleaf groundsel make it easy to spot in desert landscapes.
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She studied the threadleaf groundsel during her research on poisonous plants of the southwest.
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The threadleaf groundsel is often found in arid regions.
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Farmers need to be aware of threadleaf groundsel in their fields.
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Ranchers must keep their cattle away from fields of threadleaf groundsel due to its toxicity.
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She studied the threadleaf groundsel during her research on poisonous plants of the southwest.
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The distinctive yellow flowers of the threadleaf groundsel make it easy to spot in desert landscapes.
Synonyms
A bushy bluish-green plant with woolly leaves and yellow flower clusters that is poisonous to farm animals
Surface Forms
Morphology
threadleaf + groundsel
The noun is compositionally built: 'threadleaf' can be parsed as thread + leaf (i.e. having thread-like/narrow leaves) and 'groundsel' is a type of plant, so the phrase denotes a kind of groundsel characterized by thin leaves. This modifier+noun pattern is regular and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the basic meaning even if fine botanical details (color, toxicity) are not predictable from the parts.
Etymology
Threadleaf groundsel gives a simple picture: threadleaf describes its thin, thread-like leaves and groundsel is an old name for low, ground-growing plants with small yellow flower heads. So the name helps you remember a bushy, bluish-green plant with yellow heads that can be poisonous to animals.
