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Glite Dictionary
Spiranthes cernua

Spiranthes cernua

9.9
An orchid with spiraling white flowers that smells like vanilla and grows in damp eastern and central North America
  • noun
  • /spaɪˈrænθiz ˈsɜrnjuə/
  • Specialized
translation icon : Spiranthes cernua
  • The Spiranthes cernua blooms in late summer, filling the marsh with a sweet vanilla fragrance.

Examples

  • Gardeners appreciate Spiranthes cernua for its delicate spiraling flowers and pleasant scent.

  • Botanists were excited to find a rare cluster of Spiranthes cernua near the wetland reserve.

  • Look at this Spiranthes cernua!

  • Is that a Spiranthes cernua?

  • Botanists were excited to find a rare cluster of Spiranthes cernua near the wetland reserve.

  • Gardeners appreciate Spiranthes cernua for its delicate spiraling flowers and pleasant scent.

  • The Spiranthes cernua blooms in late summer, filling the marsh with a sweet vanilla fragrance.

Synonyms

screw augur
vsSpiranthes cernua
  • Specialized
9.9

A kind of orchid that has tall stems and a spiral of small white, sweet-smelling flowers

is the scientific name for the same plant rather than the common name

Surface Forms

Spiranthes cernua singular
Spiranthes cernuas plural

Morphology

Spiranthes + cernua

This is a scientific Latin binomial rather than a phrase built from common English words; 'Spiranthes' is a genus name for certain orchids and 'cernua' is a Latin epithet not listed in the learner-facing dictionary. Even if a learner recognized 'Spiranthes' as an orchid, the specific species meaning cannot be derived from the parts by a B1 learner, so the expression is not transparently interpretable.

Etymology

Spiranthes cernua comes from Greek and Latin words: Spiranthes means 'spiral flower' and cernua means 'nodding'. The name gives a clear picture — the creamy white flowers wrap around the tall stem in a spiral and often bend like a small nod, so the name helps you remember how the orchid looks.