Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Oxydendrum arboreum

Oxydendrum arboreum

9.9
A tree that loses its leaves, with sour leaves, deep rough bark and small white fragrant flowers
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Oxydendrum arboreum
  • Hikers recognized the Oxydendrum arboreum by its distinctive sour leaves and deeply furrowed bark.

Examples

  • The Oxydendrum arboreum is also known as the sourwood tree.

  • Many beekeepers prize Oxydendrum arboreum for producing high-quality honey.

  • The Oxydendrum arboreum adds a burst of white flowers to the forest in midsummer.

  • Have you ever seen an Oxydendrum arboreum in bloom?

  • Hikers recognized the Oxydendrum arboreum by its distinctive sour leaves and deeply furrowed bark.

  • The Oxydendrum arboreum adds a burst of white flowers to the forest in midsummer.

  • Many beekeepers prize Oxydendrum arboreum for producing high-quality honey.

Synonyms

sourwood
vsOxydendrum arboreum
  • US
1 9.6

A tree with small white flowers that smell nice and leaves that taste sour

is the formal scientific name rather than the common name
sorrel tree
vsOxydendrum arboreum
  • US
8.6

A North American tree with rough bark, white fragrant flowers, sour leaves

is the formal scientific name rather than that common name

Surface Forms

Oxydendrum arboreum singular
Oxydendrum arboreums plural

Morphology

Oxydendrum + arboreum

Knowing 'Oxydendrum' as a genus of trees gives a clear clue that the phrase names a tree species, so part of the meaning (that it is a tree) is recoverable from the constituents. However, 'arboreum' is a Latin epithet (not a familiar English word) and scientific binomials function as lexicalized proper names, so the specific sense and everyday meaning are not fully predictable to a B1 learner who lacks Latin knowledge.

Etymology

Oxydendrum arboreum comes from Greek and Latin words: oxy means 'sour', while dendrum and arboreum mean 'tree'. So the name gives a clear picture: it is literally the 'sour tree', which explains the species' sour-tasting leaves and helps you remember the plant.