Euphorbia cyathophora
- noun
- Specialized
- The colorful foliage of Euphorbia cyathophora makes it popular in ornamental gardens.
Examples
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Botanists often study Euphorbia cyathophora because of its distinctive red bracts.
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The Euphorbia cyathophora blooms vibrantly in the summer.
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Unlike true poinsettias, Euphorbia cyathophora thrives in various climates across the United States.
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I bought a Euphorbia cyathophora for my garden.
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Botanists often study Euphorbia cyathophora because of its distinctive red bracts.
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The colorful foliage of Euphorbia cyathophora makes it popular in ornamental gardens.
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I bought a Euphorbia cyathophora for my garden.
Synonyms
A plant with bright red flower clusters that grows in the southern United States and eastern Mexico
Surface Forms
Morphology
Euphorbia + cyathophora
This is a Latin scientific binomial: knowing 'Euphorbia' only indicates the genus, while 'cyathophora' is not an English lexical item and provides no transparent English meaning for a B1 learner. As a taxonomic proper name the specific referent is arbitrary and not compositionally derivable from the parts, so the expression is opaque.
Etymology
Euphorbia cyathophora may come from an old doctor named Euphorbus and from Greek parts cyatho- and -phora, which mean 'cup' and 'to carry'. So the name gives the image of a plant linked to Euphorbus that 'carries little cups', which fits because this poinsettia-like plant has small, cup-shaped flower parts.