Culver's physic
- noun
- US
:
física de Culver
- The garden featured a patch of Culver's physic blooming beside the pond.
Examples
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I saw a beautiful Culver's physic blooming in the garden.
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Early settlers sometimes used Culver's physic as a herbal remedy.
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Botanists identified the rare Culver's physic during their survey of the meadow.
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Look at the lovely Culver's physic growing near the pond!
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The garden featured a patch of Culver's physic blooming beside the pond.
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Botanists identified the rare Culver's physic during their survey of the meadow.
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Early settlers sometimes used Culver's physic as a herbal remedy.
Synonyms
A tall plant with spikes of small white or purple flowers that lives for many years
A tall flowering plant with long spikes of white or purple flowers, also called Culver's root
A tall plant from eastern North America with spikes of small white or purple flowers
Surface Forms
Morphology
Culver's + physic
This is a lexicalized botanical name combining a proper name ('Culver's') with an archaic noun ('physic' meaning medicine), so knowing the parts would not let a B1 learner derive the specific referent (a particular perennial herb with spiked flowers). The meaning is a conventional plant name rather than a compositionally transparent phrase, making it unpredictable to learners.
Etymology
Culver's physic may be named after an herbalist called Culver who used the tall plant as a cure. The word physic means 'medicine', so the name reminds us that people once used this flowering plant as a herbal remedy.
