narrow goldenrod

8.2

A plant from western North America with long narrow clusters of small yellow flowers

noun

Specialized

: solidago estrecha

She identified the plant by its long clusters of yellow flowers as narrow goldenrod.

Examples

The narrow goldenrod thrives in the dry regions of the American West.
Hikers marveled at the fields dotted with blooming narrow goldenrod in late summer.
Look at the stunning narrow goldenrods in this park!
The narrow goldenrod blooms beautifully in late summer.
Hikers marveled at the fields dotted with blooming narrow goldenrod in late summer.
The narrow goldenrod thrives in the dry regions of the American West.
She identified the plant by its long clusters of yellow flowers as narrow goldenrod.

Synonyms

Solidago spathulata

vsnarrow goldenrod

Specialized

9.9

A wild plant from western North America with long narrow groups of small yellow flowers

is the common English name used instead of a Latin one

Surface Forms

narrow goldenrod singular

narrow goldenrods plural

Morphology

narrow + goldenrod

The phrase is a straightforward adjective+noun combination: 'narrow' describes a physical property of the plant 'goldenrod', so the species meaning is directly derivable from the constituents. This compositional pattern (modifier specifying a subtype) is cross-linguistically common and would be clear to a B1 learner who knows both words.

Etymology

Narrow goldenrod comes from how the plant looks: narrow means long and thin and goldenrod means a 'rod' of gold-colored flowers, so the name refers to a plant with long, thin clusters of small yellow flowers.