Polianthes tuberosa
- noun
- Specialized
:
tuberosa
- The Polianthes tuberosa is prized for the sweet fragrance of its white blooms.
Examples
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Perfume makers use extracts from Polianthes tuberosa as a key ingredient in several fragrances.
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Gardeners often plant Polianthes tuberosa to add an exotic scent to their flower beds.
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The Polianthes tuberosa is known for its beautiful flowers.
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Many gardeners love to cultivate Polianthes tuberosa in their backyards.
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Gardeners often plant Polianthes tuberosa to add an exotic scent to their flower beds.
-
Perfume makers use extracts from Polianthes tuberosa as a key ingredient in several fragrances.
-
The Polianthes tuberosa is prized for the sweet fragrance of its white blooms.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A tropical Mexican plant with long stems of very fragrant white flowers used in perfume and gardens
Surface Forms
Morphology
Polianthes + tuberosa
This is a Latin botanical binomial: the first element names the plant genus and the second (tuberosa) is a Latin adjective meaning ‘tuberous’/related to tubers. If a learner recognises the morphological link to English 'tuber'/'tuberous' they can partially infer it denotes a tuberous, fragrant plant, but because botanical Latin and genus names are specialized and 'tuberosa' is not a common English word, the meaning is not fully predictable for an average B1 learner without some prior exposure.
Etymology
Polianthes tuberosa comes from old words that picture the plant: Polianthes means 'many-flowered' and tuberosa points to its thick underground root, a 'tuber'. So you can remember it as the plant with a thick root, many waxy white flowers, and a strong sweet smell often used in perfume.