air potato
1
8.7
- noun
- /ɛr pəˈtoʊtəʊ/
- Indian
:
papa aérea
- Farmers in tropical regions cultivate air potato for its nutritious and tasty tubers.
Examples
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Air potato: a virtually unique category of perennial staple crop.
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Crops like bananas, breadfruit, sago palm, peach palm, air potato, and Tahitian chestnut are very high-yielding.
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The day may soon come when a web search on air potato mostly turns up the environmental costs of not growing air potato.
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The day may soon come when a web search on air potato mostly turns up the environmental costs of not growing air potato.
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The native range of air potato stretches from Australia to Africa; thus, even if serious efforts at air potato production were confined to that area, it could make a tremendous positive impact.
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The native range of air potato stretches from Australia to Africa; thus, even if serious efforts at air potato production were confined to that area, it could make a tremendous positive impact.
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Though air potato is the only species profiled from this family, it is worthy of a prominent place in the perennial staples palette.
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At the Las Caadas permaculture center in Mexico, air potato is proving itself to be productive, delicious, and well-behaved when trellised on established nitrogen-fixing trees.
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The air potato grows large, edible tubers that can be harvested easily from above ground.
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Invasive air potato vines can quickly overtake gardens if not managed properly.
Synonyms
A tropical yam plant grown for its large edible tubers
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward noun–noun compound where 'air' modifies 'potato' to indicate a potato-like tuber associated with the air/above-ground environment; a B1 learner who knows 'air' and 'potato' can reasonably infer it is a potato-like plant that grows above ground. The meaning is compositional and follows regular English compounding patterns rather than being idiomatic or metaphorical.
Etymology
Air potato is named by joining air and potato: its potato-like bulbs sit on the vine above the ground, like potatoes hanging in the air. That's why the name refers to a climbing plant with large, edible bulbs that 'grow above ground'.