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amber lily

amber lily

9.9
A plant with long grasslike leaves and a tall leafless stalk of orange-yellow star-shaped flowers
  • noun
  • /ˈæmbər ˈlɪli/
  • Specialized
translation icon : lirio ámbar
  • The amber lily is the only Anthericum species native to North America.

Examples

  • The amber lily blooms each spring across the dry hills of Arizona.

  • Gardeners in New Mexico prize the amber lily for its striking orange-yellow flowers.

  • The amber lily blooms beautifully in the desert.

  • Have you seen the amber lilies in bloom this spring?

  • Gardeners in New Mexico prize the amber lily for its striking orange-yellow flowers.

  • The amber lily blooms each spring across the dry hills of Arizona.

  • The amber lily is the only Anthericum species native to North America.

Synonyms

Anthericum torreyi
vsamber lily
  • Specialized
9.9

A plant with grasslike leaves and star-shaped yellow-orange flowers on a leafless stalk in the southwestern United States

is the common everyday name for the same plant

Surface Forms

amber lily singular
amber lilies plural

Morphology

amber + lily

The noun phrase is compositionally built from 'amber' (a deep yellowish-brown color) + 'lily' (a flowering plant), so its meaning as a lily that is amber-coloured or a lily named for that colour is directly inferable. This is a straightforward descriptive compound following common adjective+noun patterns cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both words will understand it.

Etymology

Amber lily comes from the plant's warm amber color and its lily-like flowers that look like small, star-shaped blooms on a thin stem. So the name helps you picture a yellow-orange flower that grows on dry hills and explains what the plant looks like.