bristly sarsparilla
- noun
- US
:
sarsaparilla espinosa
- In the summer, the bristly sarsparilla produces small clusters of black berries.
Examples
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The bristly sarsparilla is often found growing along forest edges in the eastern United States.
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Many indigenous peoples used the roots of bristly sarsparilla in traditional medicine.
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The bristly sarsparilla grows abundantly in the wild.
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Have you ever seen a bristly sarsparilla plant?
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In the summer, the bristly sarsparilla produces small clusters of black berries.
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Many indigenous peoples used the roots of bristly sarsparilla in traditional medicine.
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The bristly sarsparilla is often found growing along forest edges in the eastern United States.
Synonyms
A bristly plant from eastern and central North America with black fruit and medicinal bark
Surface Forms
Morphology
bristly + sarsparilla
This is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: 'bristly' (covered in short stiff hairs) simply describes the noun 'sarsparilla' (a plant), so the overall meaning 'a sarsparilla plant that is bristly' is directly derivable. Although 'sarsparilla' is a rare lexical item, if a learner knows both constituent meanings the combination follows ordinary compositional rules and is immediately comprehensible.
Etymology
Bristly sarsparilla is named for the plant's look: its stems and leaves are rough and hairy, so bristly, and it is a kind of sarsparilla with dark berries and useful roots. That's why the name means a rough, berry-bearing herb often used as 'medicine'.
