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Glite Dictionary
St Peter's wort

St Peter's wort

9.4
A European plant with bright yellow flowers that blooms in summer
  • noun
  • UK
translation icon : hierba de San Pedro
  • The bright yellow flowers of St Peter's wort brighten the meadows each summer.

Examples

  • Some gardeners prefer St Peter's wort for its hardiness and attractive foliage.

  • Botanists have documented St Peter's wort growing wild throughout western Europe.

  • I found some St Peter's wort in the garden.

  • Many people use St Peter's wort for its medicinal properties.

  • The bright yellow flowers of St Peter's wort bloom beautifully in the meadows during summer.

  • Some gardeners choose St Peter's wort for its resilience in various soil types and attractive leaves.

  • Botanists have observed St Peter's wort thriving in its native habitats across western Europe.

Synonyms

Hypericum tetrapterum
vsSt Peter's wort
  • Specialized
9.9

A wild plant with bright yellow flowers that grows in wet meadows in Europe

is a general regional plant name without that species-specific flower detail
Hypericum maculatum
vsSt Peter's wort
  • Specialized
9.9

A European plant that lives many years and grows in meadows with bright yellow flowers

is the botanical species term rather than the broad common name

Surface Forms

St Peter's wort singular
St Peter's worts plural

Morphology

St + Peter's + wort

The phrase transparently combines 'St' (Saint) + the proper name 'Peter's' with 'wort' (a marker for a plant), so a learner who knows these constituents can infer it denotes a plant associated with St Peter. This formation is a regular naming pattern in English (e.g., St John's wort) and is therefore immediately interpretable by a B1 learner.

Etymology

St Peter's wort may come from people planting the bright yellow wildflower near churches named for St Peter, and wort is an old word for a 'plant'. That's why today St Peter's wort means 'a yellow European wild plant'.