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Glite Dictionary
Lathyrus sylvestris

Lathyrus sylvestris

9.9
A European plant with pink and purple flowers grown for animal feed and to improve soil
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Lathyrus sylvestris
  • The pink and purple flowers of Lathyrus sylvestris attract many pollinators in the summer.

Examples

  • Lathyrus sylvestris is often grown as green manure to improve soil fertility.

  • Some farmers plant Lathyrus sylvestris for use as animal fodder.

  • The Lathyrus sylvestris blooms beautifully in the spring.

  • Farmers often use Lathyrus sylvestris as a green manure.

  • Lathyrus sylvestris is often grown as green manure to improve soil fertility.

  • Some farmers plant Lathyrus sylvestris for use as animal fodder.

  • The pink and purple flowers of Lathyrus sylvestris attract many pollinators in the summer.

Synonyms

narrow-leaved everlasting pea
vsLathyrus sylvestris
9.9

A European plant with purple and pink flowers that farmers grow for animal food or to improve soil

is the same plant but not explicitly named by its scientific form
flat pea
vsLathyrus sylvestris
  • UK
8.6

A European perennial plant with purple and pink flowers grown for animal feed and to improve soil

is the formal botanical name and mentions being cultivated instead

Surface Forms

Lathyrus sylvestris singular
Lathyrus sylvestris plural

Morphology

Lathyrus + sylvestris

This is a Linnaean binomial formed from a genus name plus a Latin specific epithet: if a learner knew 'Lathyrus' (a climbing pea-like herb) and 'sylvestris' (Latin for 'of the woods' or 'wild'), they could infer it names a Lathyrus species associated with woodland or wild habitats. However, 'sylvestris' is not an English lexical item and the taxonomic naming convention is specialized, so a typical B1 learner without knowledge of Latin/taxonomy would not reliably derive the precise botanical sense.

Etymology

Lathyrus sylvestris may come from old words meaning Lathyrus 'pea' and sylvestris 'of the woods'. Picture a wild pea with pink and purple flowers growing in fields and hedges; that's why the name fits a pea-like wild plant farmers use as animal food and to improve the soil.