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Glite Dictionary
balloon flower

balloon flower

9.5
A plant that lives for many years with white to pink puffed flowers in long clusters on upright stems
  • noun
  • /bəˈluːn ˈflaʊər/
  • US
translation icon : flor globo
  • The balloon flower blooms beautifully in the summer with its fragrant, cup-shaped flowers.

Examples

  • The balloon flower blooms beautifully in the garden.

  • Many gardeners enjoy planting balloon flowers because they attract butterflies to the garden.

  • Hikers spotted a rare balloon flower growing near the canyon trail.

  • She planted balloon flowers along the fence for their beautiful white and pink clusters.

  • The desert landscape was dotted with blooming balloon flowers in the early spring.

  • I love the vibrant colors of the balloon flowers in spring.

  • The balloon flower's buds resemble small balloons before they open into lovely white and pink blossoms.

Synonyms

platycodon
vsballoon flower
  • Specialized
9.9

A garden plant with bell-shaped blue or white flowers

is a specific perennial with puffed fragrant white to reddish-pink clustered flowers

Surface Forms

balloon flower singular
balloon flowers plural

Morphology

balloon + flower

The compound combines the familiar nouns 'balloon' (an inflated sac) and 'flower', so a B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer a flower with balloon-like or puffed-up blooms. This shape-based descriptive composition is cross-linguistically common and follows normal English compounding, making the meaning predictable from the parts.

Etymology

Balloon flower comes from the plant's round buds that swell like a small balloon before the flower opens, so the plant looks like tiny balloons on stems. That's why the name refers to a plant with 'puffed-up' flowers.