water-shield family
- noun
- Specialized
:
familia del escudo de agua
- Brasenia, a genus within the water-shield family, is known for its floating leaves.
Examples
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The water-shield family consists of aquatic plants commonly found in still or slow-moving waters.
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Botanists sometimes debate whether the water-shield family should be grouped with true water lilies.
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The water-shield family includes various aquatic plants.
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Are water-shield families found in all freshwater habitats?
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The water-shield family comprises distinctive aquatic plants that thrive in lakes and ponds.
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Many species in the water-shield family have broad, floating leaves that provide shelter for small fish.
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Gardening enthusiasts appreciate the water-shield family for its elegant appearance in water gardens.
Synonyms
A small family of flowering water plants including Cabomba and Brasenia that grow in ponds and slow rivers
How Broad
Surface Forms
Morphology
water-shield + family
The structure 'X family' signals a taxonomic group, and knowing 'water' + 'shield' together with the scientific sense of 'family' lets a learner infer this refers to a group related to something called 'water-shield' (likely aquatic). However, 'water-shield' is a lexicalized plant name whose specific referent and plant sense are not fully predictable from the literal meanings of 'water' and 'shield', so the overall meaning is only partially transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Water-shield family may come from the plants' flat, floating leaves that look like a shield on the water. That's why the name now means a family of water plants with shield-like leaves.