Saintpaulia ionantha
- noun
- /seɪntˈpɔːliə aɪəˈnænθə/
- Specialized
:
Saintpaulia ionantha
- The Saintpaulia ionantha thrives in indirect sunlight and moist soil in most homes.
Examples
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My grandmother has several pots of Saintpaulia ionantha decorating her windowsills.
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The Saintpaulia ionantha blooms in vibrant purple colors.
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Botanists prize the Saintpaulia ionantha for its beautiful, long-lasting flowers.
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I bought a beautiful Saintpaulia ionantha for my living room.
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My grandmother has several pots of Saintpaulia ionantha decorating her windowsills.
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The Saintpaulia ionantha thrives in indirect sunlight and moist soil in most homes.
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The Saintpaulia ionantha blooms in vibrant purple colors.
Synonyms
1
4.3
A small African plant with soft fuzzy leaves and violet, white, or pink flowers kept indoors
A small houseplant with round leaves and purple flowers
Surface Forms
Morphology
Saintpaulia + ionantha
This is a scientific binomial (Latinized) name composed of a genus and a specific epithet, where the parts function as taxonomic labels rather than ordinary English words. The second element 'ionantha' is not a common lexical item (and is listed as not found), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would still not be able to derive the everyday meaning 'African violet' from these proper-name/Latin elements.
Etymology
Saintpaulia ionantha comes from two parts: Saintpaulia is named for a man, Baron Saint Paul, who sent the first plants to Europe, and ionantha comes from old Greek words meaning 'violet flower' because the blooms look like small violets. So the name helps us remember it is the 'African violet'.