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Glite Dictionary
Alnus crispa

Alnus crispa

9.6
A small bush with light green leaves and winged nuts that often grows by rivers in northern North America
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Alnus crispa
  • The Alnus crispa is known for its distinct winged nuts and light green leaves.

Examples

  • The Alnus crispa is often found along riverbanks in northern forests.

  • Planting Alnus crispa can help restore areas affected by erosion.

  • Botanists studied the unique winged nuts produced by Alnus crispa.

  • The Alnus crispa thrives in wet areas.

  • Have you seen the Alnus crispa in the forest?

  • In northern regions, you can often spot Alnus crispa growing near waterways.

  • Gardeners appreciate Alnus crispa for its ability to stabilize soil and improve biodiversity.

Synonyms

Alnus viridis crispa
vsAlnus crispa
  • Specialized
9.9

An alder shrub from North America with light green leaves and winged nuts

is the common name used instead of a formal subspecies label
green alder
vsAlnus crispa
7.2

A bush with green leaves that grows in cold mountain and northern areas

is restricted to North America rather than occurring also in Europe

Surface Forms

Alnus crispa singular
Alnus crispas plural

Morphology

Alnus + crispa

The first element 'Alnus' names the genus (alder), so a learner who recognizes that could infer this refers to a kind of alder. However, 'crispa' is not a familiar English word (it's a Latin epithet) and the binomial taxonomic form is not a regular compositional English phrase, so the specific sense ('green alder' / a particular shrub) is not fully derivable by a B1 learner.

Etymology

Alnus crispa comes from Latin words that describe the shrub. Alnus means 'alder' and crispa means 'curled' or 'wrinkled', probably referring to its small green leaves or their edges, so the name helps you picture this green alder with slightly curled leaves.