dove's foot geranium

9.9

A common low plant with round leaves and pink flowers that grows in lawns

noun

: geranio de pie de paloma

The dove's foot geranium quickly spread across the vacant lot, covering the ground with small pink flowers.

Examples

I found a patch of dove's foot geranium growing beside the footpath during my morning walk.
Gardeners often remove dove's foot geranium to keep their lawns tidy and free of weeds.
Look at the dove's foot geranium!
Is this a dove's foot geranium?
Gardeners often remove dove's foot geranium to keep their lawns tidy and free of weeds.
I found a patch of dove's foot geranium growing beside the footpath during my morning walk.
The dove's foot geranium quickly spread across the vacant lot, covering the ground with small pink flowers.

Synonyms

Geranium molle

vsdove's foot geranium

Specialized

7.9

A wild plant from Europe and western Asia with small pink flowers that often grows as a weed in lawns

uses a common descriptive name while noting the species in parentheses

Surface Forms

dove's foot geranium singular

dove's foot geraniums plural

Morphology

dove's + foot + Geranium

The phrase is compositionally a noun phrase: a geranium characterized by something like a 'dove's foot' (possessive + body-part), so a learner who knows 'dove', 'foot' and 'geranium' will likely infer it is a type/variety of geranium. However, the specific botanical details (small-flowered, weed status, or exact morphological reference) are domain-specific and not fully predictable from the constituents, making the expression only partially transparent to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Dove's foot geranium gets its name from the plant's low, round leaves that look like a dove's foot. That clear image helps people spot this small geranium and remember it as a common 'weed' with tiny pink flowers.