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Glite Dictionary
Asclepias albicans

Asclepias albicans

9.9
A tall desert plant with mostly leafless white waxy stems and small star-shaped white flowers
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Asclepias albicans
  • The whitish, star-shaped flowers of Asclepias albicans attract a variety of pollinators in the desert.

Examples

  • Botanists studied the unique waxy stems of Asclepias albicans to understand its drought adaptation.

  • Asclepias albicans can be found in arid regions of Arizona and California.

  • The Asclepias albicans blooms beautifully in the desert.

  • I saw an Asclepias albicans while hiking in Arizona.

  • The whitish, star-shaped flowers of Asclepias albicans attract a variety of pollinators in the desert.

  • Asclepias albicans can be found in arid regions of Arizona and California.

  • Botanists studied the unique waxy stems of Asclepias albicans to understand its drought adaptation.

Synonyms

white milkweed
vsAsclepias albicans
  • Specialized
8.9

A tall desert plant from the southwestern United States with white leafless stems and pale star-shaped flowers

is the scientific name for the same plant rather than the common name

Surface Forms

Asclepias albicans singular
Asclepias albicans plural

Morphology

Asclepias + albicans

This is a Linnaean binomial (a scientific species name) combining the genus name Asclepias with the Latin epithet albicans. The epithet is a Latin descriptor (not a common English word) and the whole term functions as a taxonomic proper name rather than a compositional English phrase, so a B1 learner who only knows ordinary English constituents would not reliably derive the descriptive meaning.

Etymology

Asclepias albicans gets its name from two parts: Asclepias, after the Greek god linked to healing because milkweeds were once used in folk medicine, and albicans, a Latin word meaning 'becoming white', which fits its pale stems and flowers. So the name helps you remember it is a white milkweed plant.