Mead's milkweed
1
9.9
- noun
- Specialized
:
Asclepias meadii
- Many conservationists are focused on protecting Mead's milkweed due to its threatened status.
Examples
-
Biologists study Mead's milkweed to understand its role in the habitat of various pollinators.
-
The rare Mead's milkweed is essential for supporting the local ecosystem in central North America.
-
"Mead's Omaha women walked a few paces behind their men, their eyes fixed meekly on the ground."
Academic text (1995)
Synonyms
A threatened milkweed that grows naturally in central North American grasslands
A rare milkweed plant from central North American prairies that is in danger because of habitat loss
How Threatened
102
3.6
50
3.2
- Specialized
1
9.9
2
6.4
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
Mead's + milkweed
The expression is a straightforward eponymous compound: 'Mead's' functions as a possessive/proper-name modifier and 'milkweed' names the plant genus, so a learner who knows both constituents will understand this refers to a particular kind of milkweed named after Mead. Specific additional facts (e.g. that the species is rare or threatened) are not encoded in the words, but the basic referential meaning is compositional and immediately recoverable.
Etymology
Mead's milkweed comes from a person called Mead who first found and studied the plant, so the plant keeps his name. The word milkweed refers to the sticky white sap the plant makes, and that's why the name means a 'rare' prairie plant people try to protect.