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Glite Dictionary
black bead

black bead

9.9
A shrub from Florida and the Caribbean with white or yellow flowers and shiny black seeds
  • noun
  • US
translation icon : frijol negro
  • The black bead shrub grows in tropical regions of Florida and the Caribbean.

Examples

  • Locals use the pods from the black bead in traditional crafts and jewelry.

  • Gardeners value the black bead for its attractive flowers and glossy seeds.

  • The black bead shrub thrives in tropical climates.

  • Do black beads grow in Florida?

  • Gardeners value the black bead for its attractive flowers and glossy seeds.

  • Locals use the pods from the black bead in traditional crafts and jewelry.

  • The black bead shrub grows abundantly in tropical regions of Florida and the Caribbean.

Synonyms

Pithecellobium unguis-cati
vsblack bead
  • Specialized
9.9

A bush from Florida and the West Indies with few thorns, curved pods, and shiny black seeds

is the common, nontechnical name for the same shrub
cat's-claw
vsblack bead
  • US
9.9

A shrub with curved seed pods and shiny black seeds

does not stress seed shininess when describing the shrub
catclaw
vsblack bead
  • US
9.9

A small upright shrub with curved pointed seed pods that stick to animals

draws attention to the shiny black seeds as an identifying trait

Surface Forms

black bead singular
black beads plural

Morphology

black + bead

The constituents 'black' and 'bead' are individually transparent, so a B1 learner would infer a black, bead-like object or feature (e.g. dark shiny seeds). However, the established lexical meaning refers to a specific shrub named for those seeds, which is a specialized botanical sense not directly predictable from adjective+noun composition alone, making the phrase only partially transparent.

Etymology

The shrub black bead gets its name from its shiny black seeds that look like small, round beads. People used these seeds for jewelry and craft, so that's why the plant is called black bead today.