alder dogwood
- noun
- UK
:
cornejo de aliso
- The alder dogwood produces clusters of small white flowers in early summer.
Examples
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Gardeners often plant alder dogwood for its striking red stems in winter.
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The leaves of the alder dogwood turn a beautiful purple-red in autumn.
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The alder dogwood blooms beautifully in spring.
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Many gardeners love the alder dogwood for its unique color.
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Gardeners often plant alder dogwood for its striking red stems in winter.
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The alder dogwood produces clusters of small white flowers in early summer.
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The leaves of the alder dogwood turn a beautiful purple-red in autumn.
Synonyms
11
5.9
A small tree or shrub that has showy flowers in spring and colorful stems
1
4.5
A small tree with bright white or pink flowers in clusters
A European bush that turns red in autumn and has white flowers
A European shrub that loses its leaves and has dull white flowers and red leaves in autumn
A small bush with red stems, white flowers, and berries often grown in gardens
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a noun–noun compound where the head 'dogwood' names the kind of plant and 'alder' specifies a variety or association, so its overall meaning ('a type of dogwood') is directly derivable from the parts. The compositional pattern (modifier + head = a kind of X) is common and cross-linguistically regular, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Alder dogwood may come from the tree's look: people thought its leaves were like an alder and its white flowers and reddish winter stems showed it was a dogwood. So the name helps you remember it is a small dogwood tree with red stems and white flowers.