Carya cordiformis
- noun
- Specialized
:
Carya cordiformis
- The Carya cordiformis is easily recognized by its smooth gray bark and compound leaves.
Examples
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Some animals avoid eating the bitter nuts produced by the Carya cordiformis.
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The Carya cordiformis is commonly known as the bitternut hickory.
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Researchers studied the growth patterns of Carya cordiformis throughout the eastern United States.
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Have you ever seen a Carya cordiformis tree in the wild?
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The Carya cordiformis grows tall and is often found in forests throughout eastern North America.
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Wildlife, such as squirrels, often gather around the Carya cordiformis to feed on its bitter nuts.
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In the autumn, the leaves of the Carya cordiformis turn a beautiful yellow, making it a highlight of the landscape.
Synonyms
A North American tree with leaves of seven or nine leaflets and thin-shelled, very bitter nuts
A hickory tree with leaves that have seven or nine small parts and thin shelled nuts that taste very bitter
A hickory tree that makes bitter thin-shelled nuts and the nut itself
A tree in the eastern United States with leaves of seven or nine small parts and thin, very bitter nuts
A tree from the eastern United States with 7 or 9 leaflets and thin, very bitter nuts
How Bitter
Surface Forms
Morphology
Carya + cordiformis
This is a botanical Latin binomial (genus + species) where the second element is a Latin adjective not in learners' everyday vocabulary. A B1 learner who knows 'Carya' but not 'cordiformis' cannot infer the common meaning 'bitternut hickory', and even knowing the Latin root (e.g. 'heart-shaped') would not clearly map to the species' common name or salient meaning, so the sense is not predictable from the parts.
Etymology
Carya cordiformis may come from Latin words that describe the tree: Carya marks it as a 'hickory' and cordiformis means 'heart-shaped'. So the name gives a simple picture, a hickory with a heart-shaped nut or leaf, which helps you remember this species known for its thin, bitter nuts.
