green adder's mouth
- noun
- /ɡrin ˈædərz maʊθ/
- US
:
boca de serpiente verde
- The green adder's mouth can be difficult to spot due to its small, inconspicuous flowers.
Examples
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The conservation area is home to several rare orchids, including the green adder's mouth.
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Botanists were pleased when they discovered a green adder's mouth growing in the wild.
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Look at that beautiful green adder's mouth over there!
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I spotted a green adder's mouth in the forest.
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The conservation area is home to several rare orchids, including the green adder's mouth.
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The green adder's mouth can be difficult to spot due to its small, inconspicuous flowers.
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Botanists were pleased when they discovered a green adder's mouth growing in the wild.
Synonyms
A small North American orchid with one leaf and very thin petals
A North American orchid plant with one leaf and small flowers with very thin petals
Surface Forms
Morphology
The elements 'green', 'adder's' and 'mouth' transparently signal color and a snake-mouth image, so a learner could infer it refers to a green object resembling an adder's mouth. However, the phrase is a conventional botanical name for a particular orchid, and that specific reference (an orchid with threadlike petals) is lexicalized and not predictable from the parts alone, so learners would not reliably identify it as an orchid.
Etymology
Green adder's mouth was named because the tiny green flower looks like the open mouth of the adder, a small snake, with thin threadlike petals like a tongue or fangs. So the name points to the plant's shape and helps you remember this orchid.
