false dragon head
- noun
- US
:
planta obediente
- Botanists often refer to the false dragon head by its other name, obedient plant.
Examples
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The garden's false dragon head bloomed in vibrant shades of pink throughout the summer.
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She planted false dragon head along the fence to attract bees and butterflies.
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The false dragon head blooms beautifully in the summer.
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I planted a false dragon head in my garden.
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The garden's false dragon head bloomed in vibrant shades of pink throughout the summer.
-
She planted false dragon head along the fence to attract bees and butterflies.
-
Botanists often refer to the false dragon head by its other name, obedient plant.
Synonyms
A garden plant from North America with a tall stem of two-lipped pink or white flowers
A North American garden plant with tall spikes of pink or white flowers
A garden plant that lives for several years with spikes of pink or white flowers
A plant with narrow leaves and tall spikes of white, pink, or lavender flowers
Surface Forms
Morphology
Although the phrase can be parsed compositionally as an imitation or non-genuine 'dragon head', the actual referent is a specific ornamental plant (a lexicalized botanical name) that is not predictable from the literal constituents. A B1 learner who knows 'false', 'dragon', and 'head' would most likely not infer the plant sense, so the expression is opaque.
Etymology
False dragon head comes from the look of its flowers: each two-lipped bloom looks like a tiny dragon's head, and the word false shows it is not the true 'dragonhead', so the name means a dragon-like but different 'type of plant'.
