chaparral pea
- noun
- US
:
guisante del chaparral
- The chaparral pea is often found on dry, rocky slopes throughout coastal California.
Examples
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Hikers were delighted by the clusters of bright flowers on the chaparral pea during early spring.
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Dense thickets of chaparral pea provide shelter for many small animals in mountain habitats.
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The chaparral pea thrives in dry conditions.
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Many chaparral peas bloom in early spring.
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Dense thickets of chaparral pea provide shelter for many small animals in mountain habitats.
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Hikers were delighted by the clusters of bright flowers on the chaparral pea during early spring.
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The chaparral pea is often found on dry, rocky slopes throughout coastal California.
Synonyms
A spiny evergreen shrub with bright rose and purple flowers that forms dense thickets on dry rocky slopes
A spiny evergreen shrub with bright rose and purple flowers that grows on dry, rocky mountain slopes in California
A flowering plant in the pea family native to California and Baja California
Surface Forms
Morphology
chaparral + pea
The phrase is a straightforward noun–noun compound where the head 'pea' is qualified by the habitat/type 'chaparral', so the meaning 'a pea (plant) that grows in chaparral or is associated with chaparral vegetation' is directly derivable from the constituents. This compositional pattern (location/type + noun) is common in English and cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Chaparral pea is named for where it grows and what it looks like. Chaparral is the name for the thick, dry bushes where the plant lives, and pea refers to its pea-like flowers, so the name points to both its home and its shape.
