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Glite Dictionary
Pinus longaeva

Pinus longaeva

9.9
A very old pine tree from western United States mountains that can live for thousands of years
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : pino de larga vida
  • The Pinus longaeva can live for thousands of years in harsh mountain climates.

Examples

  • The Pinus longaeva is one of the oldest living trees on Earth.

  • The oldest known non-clonal organism is a specimen of Pinus longaeva in the White Mountains.

  • Scientists study Pinus longaeva to understand ancient environmental conditions.

  • Many scientists study Pinus longaeva to understand climate change.

  • The Pinus longaeva is famous for living for thousands of years in the harsh conditions of its native habitat.

  • Researchers have identified a Pinus longaeva tree that is over 4,800 years old in the White Mountains.

  • To learn about past climates, scientists often examine the growth rings of Pinus longaeva trees.

Surface Forms

Pinus longaeva singular
Pinus longaevas plural

Morphology

Pinus + longaeva

This is a scientific Latin binomial; the second element 'longaeva' is not an English word (not found in the provided dictionary) and its meaning ('long‑lived') requires knowledge of Latin or specialist taxonomy. An average B1 learner who only knows the listed constituents would not be able to infer the specific sense ‘a very long‑lived species of pine’, so the expression is not transparently compositional.

Etymology

Pinus longaeva comes from Latin words: Pinus meaning 'pine' and longaeva meaning 'long-lived'. This name fits the real trees because these twisted mountain pines can live for thousands of years, so the name reminds us they are very old.