mock azalia
- noun
- South African
:
azalea falsa
- After the leaves dropped, the mock azalia put on a stunning floral display that drew the admiration of visitors.
Examples
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Gardeners value the mock azalia for its decorative appearance and unusual succulent stem.
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The mock azalia in her garden bloomed with beautiful pink and white flowers in the early summer.
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The mock azalia blooms beautifully in spring.
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I bought a mock azalia for my garden.
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After the leaves dropped, the mock azalia put on a stunning floral display that drew the admiration of visitors.
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Gardeners value the mock azalia for its decorative appearance and unusual succulent stem.
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The mock azalia in her garden bloomed with beautiful pink and white flowers in the early summer.
Synonyms
1
7.7
A small plant with a thick swollen stem and bright pink or white flowers grown in warm places
A South African shrub with a thick water-storing stem and pink and white flowers after its leaves fall
A South African shrub with a thick swollen stem and bright pink and white flowers
A South African shrub with a thick stem that stores water and pink and white flowers
A small South African shrub with a thick stem that stores water and bright pink or white flowers
Surface Forms
Morphology
mock + azalia
The meaning is compositional: 'mock' (imitative or false) + 'azalia' (a plant name) yields 'a plant that resembles an azalea but is not a true azalea'. The 'mock + noun' pattern is common and cross-linguistically transparent (e.g. mock orange, mock turtle), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer this sense even though 'azalia' is not listed in the provided dictionary entry.
Etymology
Mock azalia may come from the plant's look: it has bright, azalea-like flowers but is not a true 'azalea'. The word mock means 'not a true' and azalia points to 'azalea', so the name helps you remember a shrub that looks like an azalea but is actually different.