white-alder family
- noun
- /ˈhwaɪtˌɔldər ˈfæmɪli/
- Specialized
:
familia de los cletras
- Botanists classify Clethra alnifolia as a member of the white-alder family.
Examples
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The white-alder family is notable for its sweetly scented flowers in late summer.
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Many gardeners appreciate the beauty of the white-alder family.
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Research on the white-alder family helps improve understanding of plant evolution.
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The white-alder family includes various species of flowering plants.
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Botanists classify Clethra alnifolia as a member of the white-alder family.
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Research on the white-alder family helps improve understanding of plant evolution.
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The white-alder family is notable for its sweetly scented flowers in late summer.
Synonyms
A group of flowering plants that has only the Clethra genus
A group of shrubs and small trees that lose their leaves and have sweet-smelling white flowers
A small tree or bush with sweet white flowers that grows well in wet, shady places
Surface Forms
Morphology
white-alder + family
The phrase is a straightforward compositional noun phrase: 'white-alder' names a type of plant and 'family' denotes a taxonomic/grouping category, so a learner who knows the constituents can infer it means the family (group) of white-alder plants. The pattern plant-name + family is common cross-linguistically and follows regular noun compounding, making the meaning directly derivable.
Etymology
White-alder family comes from people comparing these shrubs to small alders with white, often sweet-smelling flowers, so the name paints the simple picture of white, alder-like plants. That's why it now means the 'family', a 'group' of related flowering plants called Clethra.
