genus Apios
- noun
- /ˈdʒɛnəs ˈeɪpiˌoʊs/
- Specialized
- One well-known member of genus Apios is the groundnut, valued for its edible roots.
Examples
-
The tubers of genus Apios were an important food source for Native Americans.
-
The genus Apios includes several species of flowering plants.
-
Botanists studied the adaptability of genus Apios to various soil types.
-
Did you know that genus Apios is also known as groundnut?
-
One well-known member of genus Apios is the groundnut, valued for its edible roots.
-
The tubers of genus Apios were an important food source for Native Americans.
-
The genus Apios includes several species of flowering plants.
Synonyms
A climbing plant from North America with edible potato-like tubers
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines the common biological term genus (a taxonomic rank) with the taxon name Apios, so its meaning 'the genus named Apios' is directly and compositionally derivable from the constituents. Taxonomic naming (rank + name) is cross-linguistically regular, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the meaning even if they have not encountered this specific plant name before.
Etymology
Genus Apios may come from an old Greek word meaning 'pear' or 'pear-like', and the part Apios points to that shape. That's why botanists used the name for this group of twining plants, like the groundnut, whose tubers look a little like small pears.