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Lathyrus tuberosus

Lathyrus tuberosus

9.9
A European plant in the pea family that has small edible tubers and people sometimes use to flavor whiskey
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Lathyrus tuberosus
  • The Lathyrus tuberosus is valued for its small, nutritious tubers.

Examples

  • In some regions, the tubers of Lathyrus tuberosus are collected and eaten as a delicacy.

  • The Lathyrus tuberosus plant thrives in moist soil.

  • Whiskey in Scotland is sometimes flavored with the roots of Lathyrus tuberosus.

  • I found some Lathyrus tuberosus in the garden.

  • In some regions, the tubers of Lathyrus tuberosus are collected and eaten as a delicacy.

  • The Lathyrus tuberosus is valued for its small, nutritious tubers that are often used in traditional dishes.

  • Whiskey in Scotland is sometimes flavored with the tubers of Lathyrus tuberosus for a unique taste.

Synonyms

earth-nut pea
vsLathyrus tuberosus
  • UK
9.9

A plant from Europe with small edible tubers that people eat and use to add flavor

is the identical name but written with a hyphen
earthnut pea
vsLathyrus tuberosus
  • UK
9.9

A European plant with small edible roots eaten as food and used to flavour whisky

is the same name written without a hyphen
tuberous vetch
vsLathyrus tuberosus
  • UK
9.9

A European plant with small edible roots used for food and to flavor whiskey

is the scientific name while this is a common name

Surface Forms

Morphology

Lathyrus + tuberosus

This is a Latin binomial rather than a normal English phrase; knowing 'Lathyrus' (a pea-family herb) plus recognizing the element 'tuber-' could lead one to infer a tuber-bearing Lathyrus, but 'tuberosus' is not an English word and Latin morphology is not reliably recognized by B1 learners. Because part of the meaning (tuberous/edible tubers) can be guessed by those with some morphological or botanical knowledge but not by the average learner, the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Lathyrus tuberosus comes from old Latin words: Lathyrus was used for plants like peas and tuberosus means 'having tubers', small potato-like roots. People in parts of Europe ate these little tubers and even used the roots to flavour whiskey, so the name points to the plant's edible tubers.