narrow-leaf cattail
- noun
- /ˈnɛroʊ-liːf ˈkætaɪl/
- Specialized
:
seda de hojas estrechas
- She recognized the distinctive slender leaves of the narrow-leaf cattail along the pond's edge.
Examples
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The wetland was full of narrow-leaf cattail swaying gently in the breeze.
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Conservationists are working to protect the habitat of the narrow-leaf cattail in this region.
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The narrow-leaf cattail grows abundantly in wetlands.
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Have you seen the narrow-leaf cattails by the river?
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Conservationists are working to protect the habitat of the narrow-leaf cattail in this region.
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She recognized the distinctive slender leaves of the narrow-leaf cattail along the pond's edge.
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The wetland was full of narrow-leaf cattail swaying gently in the breeze.
Synonyms
A tall water plant with narrow leaves and a long brown flower spike that grows in wetlands
A wetland plant with narrow leaves and a brown flower spike
A tall water plant with long narrow leaves and brown flower spikes that grows in shallow water
Surface Forms
Morphology
narrow-leaf + cattail
The phrase denotes a species of cattail characterized by having narrow leaves, which is a straightforward adjective+noun composition; a B1 learner who knows 'narrow', 'leaf' and 'cattail' can readily infer this meaning. Descriptive botanical compounds like this are highly compositional and follow common cross-linguistic patterns, so the meaning is transparent from the constituents.
Etymology
Narrow-leaf cattail gets its name from how the plant looks: the long brown flower is a cattail that looks like a cat's tail, and the leaves are thin so they are narrow-leaf. That's why the name today refers to this 'plant' that grows in 'marshes'.
