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Glite Dictionary
lesser burdock

lesser burdock

9.7
A common wild plant with large rough leaves and purple flower heads
  • noun
translation icon : bardana menor
  • The fields were overgrown with lesser burdock, making it difficult to walk through.

Examples

  • Gardeners often remove lesser burdock because it spreads quickly and crowds out native plants.

  • The lesser burdock has large, heart-shaped leaves.

  • The large, rough leaves of lesser burdock are easily recognized by most botanists.

  • I saw a lesser burdock growing by the path.

  • Gardeners often remove lesser burdock because it spreads quickly and crowds out native plants.

  • The fields were overgrown with lesser burdock, making it difficult to walk through.

  • The large, rough leaves of lesser burdock are easily recognized by most botanists.

Synonyms

Arctium minus
vslesser burdock
  • Specialized
9.9

A wild plant with large leaves and round burrs that stick to clothes

is the common descriptive name used in ordinary language rather than the scientific term
common burdock
vslesser burdock
7.4

A large wild plant with broad leaves and seed burrs that stick to animal fur

highlights purple flower heads rather than focusing on seed burrs

Surface Forms

lesser burdock singular
lesser burdocks plural

Morphology

lesser + burdock

The phrase is directly compositional: 'lesser' (smaller or of reduced size/significance) modifies 'burdock' (a plant), so the meaning 'a smaller/smaller-statured burdock' is predictable from the parts. This kind of modifier+noun botanical naming is common cross-linguistically and would be clear to a B1 learner who knows both words.

Etymology

Lesser burdock gets its name from its sticky seed heads and its size. The word burdock comes from the 'burrs' that cling to clothes and animal fur, and lesser simply means 'smaller', so the name makes you think of a rough plant with big leaves and clingy seed heads.