Indian mallow
- noun
- Indian
:
malva india
- The garden was overrun with Indian mallow after the rainy season.
Examples
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Many gardeners love the bright yellow flowers of Indian mallow.
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Farmers consider Indian mallow a troublesome weed in many southern fields.
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Indian mallow produces attractive orange flowers that appeal to some gardeners.
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The Indian mallow blooms beautifully in the summer.
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Indian mallow produces vibrant yellow flowers that can brighten up any garden.
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In some regions, Indian mallow is grown as an ornamental plant due to its striking blooms.
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Farmers often struggle with Indian mallow since it can spread quickly and choke other crops.
Synonyms
3
7.0
A small plant with pink or purple flowers and soft hairy leaves
A tall plant with soft leaves and yellow flowers that has strong fiber and often grows as a weed
A tall tropical plant grown for its strong fiber to make cloth
A tall plant with soft velvety leaves and strong fibers used to make rope
A tropical American weed with pale yellow or orange flowers common in the southern United States
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward noun phrase combining 'Indian' (pertaining to India) and 'mallow' (a flowering plant), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer it refers to a type or variety of mallow associated with India/the region. Specific details about habitat or uses (fiber, ornamental, weed) are not fully derivable, but the basic referent—a kind of mallow—is transparently predictable.
Etymology
Indian mallow may come from early people who used Indian to mean 'from far away' and mallow for soft, round-leaved plants. So the name gives the picture of a soft, tropical plant, and today it just refers to that kind of flower people grow or call a weed.