Hydrocharis morsus-ranae
- noun
- Specialized
:
Hydrocharis morsus-ranae
- The floating leaves of Hydrocharis morsus-ranae provide habitat for small insects and fish.
Examples
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Many ponds in Europe are covered by Hydrocharis morsus-ranae during the summer months.
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Gardeners sometimes introduce Hydrocharis morsus-ranae to water gardens for its attractive white flowers.
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The Hydrocharis morsus-ranae thrives in calm waters.
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Have you seen the Hydrocharis morsus-ranae in the pond?
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Gardeners sometimes introduce Hydrocharis morsus-ranae to water gardens for its attractive white flowers.
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Many ponds in Europe are covered by Hydrocharis morsus-ranae during the summer months.
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The floating leaves of Hydrocharis morsus-ranae provide habitat for small insects and fish.
Synonyms
A small water plant with floating heart-shaped leaves and white flowers
A small water plant with round floating leaves and white flowers that lives in calm water
Surface Forms
Morphology
Hydrocharis + morsus-ranae
This is a scientific Latin binomial (genus + species epithet) rather than a normal English compositional phrase; its parts are taxonomic labels, not everyday English words. The species epithet 'morsus-ranae' is Latin and not transparently interpretable by a B1 learner, so the overall meaning ('frogbit' a particular aquatic plant) cannot be derived from the constituents.
Etymology
Hydrocharis morsus-ranae gets its name from the second part morsus-ranae, which means 'frog's bite'. People thought the round floating leaves looked like something a frog might bite, so the plant was called 'frogbit', and that image helps you remember it is a small floating water plant.
