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Glite Dictionary
Cerastium alpinum

Cerastium alpinum

9.9
A small plant with white flowers that grows on cold mountains and in the Arctic
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Cerastium alpinum
  • The rocky slopes were dotted with clusters of Cerastium alpinum in full bloom.

Examples

  • Gardeners sometimes plant Cerastium alpinum in rock gardens for its delicate, white flowers.

  • Researchers studied how Cerastium alpinum adapts to extreme Arctic climates.

  • The Cerastium alpinum blooms beautifully in harsh climates.

  • Have you seen the Cerastium alpinum in the garden?

  • Gardeners sometimes plant Cerastium alpinum in rock gardens for its delicate, white flowers.

  • The rocky slopes were dotted with clusters of Cerastium alpinum in full bloom.

  • Researchers studied how Cerastium alpinum adapts to extreme Arctic climates.

Synonyms

Alpine mouse-ear
vsCerastium alpinum
  • UK
9.6

A small plant with white flowers that grows year after year in cold Arctic and mountain areas

has identical meaning but uses the scientific name

Surface Forms

Cerastium alpinum singular
Cerastium alpinums plural

Morphology

Cerastium + alpinum

The name is compositionally built: Cerastium denotes a small flowering-plant genus and alpinum (= 'alpine'/'of the mountains') specifies habitat, so the overall meaning ('the alpine Cerastium / mountain mouse-ear') is derivable if a learner recognises the epithet as 'alpine'. However, because 'alpinum' is a Latin scientific epithet and botanical naming conventions are specialized, an average B1 learner may not reliably map it to 'alpine', making the transparency only partial.

Etymology

Cerastium alpinum may come from old Greek and Latin words. Cerastium comes from a Greek word meaning 'horn' because its small seed pod is pointy like a tiny horn, and alpinum means 'from the Alps' or 'mountain', so the name describes a small, horn-seeded plant that lives on mountains.