Lycopodium selago
- noun
- Specialized
:
Lycopodium selago
- The leaves of Lycopodium selago resemble those of a tiny fir, making it an easily recognizable clubmoss.
Examples
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Botanists discovered several specimens of Lycopodium selago in the damp, shaded forest.
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The Lycopodium selago thrives in acidic soils.
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In some traditional medicines, dried Lycopodium selago has been used for its supposed healing properties.
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Look at that Lycopodium selago!
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The leaves of Lycopodium selago resemble those of a tiny fir, making it an easily recognizable clubmoss.
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In some traditional medicines, dried Lycopodium selago has been used for its supposed healing properties.
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Botanists discovered several specimens of Lycopodium selago in the damp, shaded forest.
Synonyms
A small plant like a tiny fir tree that grows in cold northern forests
A small evergreen plant that looks like a tiny fir tree and grows in cold northern places
A small plant like a tiny fir tree that grows on the forest floor
Surface Forms
Morphology
Lycopodium + selago
This is a Latin binomial: the genus 'Lycopodium' signals a plant (clubmoss), so a learner who knows that word would recognize it refers to a plant; however the species epithet 'selago' is not semantically transparent or informative to a B1 learner and does not allow them to infer the specific meaning, appearance, or native range. Because the genus gives a partial cue but the specific sense is not derivable from the parts, the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Lycopodium selago comes from old Greek words seen in lyco- and -podium, where the parts meant 'wolf' and 'little foot' because the low, branching plant looked a bit like a paw or small foot. One popular story says that picture helps people remember this small clubmoss that looks like a tiny fir tree, so the name points to the plant we mean today.
