crown gall
- noun
- /kraʊn ɡɔl/
- Specialized
:
agalla de corona
- To treat the crown gall on my roses, I applied a special bacterial spray yesterday.
Examples
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My apple trees developed crown gall, causing unsightly lumps at the base of the stems.
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- Have I told you that my apple trees have crown gall?
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I was just telling Henry that my apple trees had crown gall.
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- But I sprayed and the crown gall is gone.
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- I sprayed and the crown gall is gone.
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- I sprayed and the crown gall was gone.
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- Got rid of the crown gall and got sooty blotch.
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The gardener explained that crown gall is a common issue for fruit trees like peaches and apples.
Synonyms
5
8.8
A swelling on a plant caused by insects or disease
1
9.9
A growth on a plant caused by insects, mites or fungi
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is a straight composition of location + phenomenon: 'crown' denotes the top/base area of a plant and 'gall' denotes a localized abnormal plant growth, so together they denote a growth located at the plant's crown. A B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the basic meaning (a tumor-like growth at the crown), even if they might not predict the specific bacterial cause.
Etymology
Crown gall gets its name from the swollen lump it makes where the stem meets the roots. The name links crown (the plant's base) and gall (an old word for a swelling), so it literally describes the 'tumor-like growth' that shows the disease.