black medick
- noun
:
medicago negra
- You can recognize black medick by its tiny yellow flowers and distinctive black seed pods.
Examples
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Farmers often find black medick spreading in pastures and lawns throughout spring.
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A patch of black medick was thriving along the edge of the footpath.
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The black medick is often found in fields.
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Many gardeners appreciate the black medick for its resilience.
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A patch of black medick was thriving along the edge of the footpath.
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Farmers often find black medick spreading in pastures and lawns throughout spring.
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You can recognize black medick by its tiny yellow flowers and distinctive black seed pods.
Synonyms
A low-growing plant from Europe with small yellow flowers often found in lawns
A low-growing plant with small yellow flowers and curved black seed pods
A low-growing plant with small yellow flowers and curved black seed pods often found in grass
A low plant with small yellow flowers that grows close to the ground
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a simple adjectival noun phrase where 'black' modifies the plant noun 'medick', so the overall meaning is directly derivable as a medick characterized by black/dark features. The composition follows a basic and cross-linguistically common modifier + noun pattern, making it immediately understandable to a learner who knows both constituent words.
Etymology
Black medick may come from the plant's look: black points to its curved dark seed pods and medick comes from an old word for plants used as animal 'fodder'. That's why today black medick means a low-growing plant with tiny yellow flowers and clear black seed pods.
