nightshade plant
1
7.4
- noun
- /ˈnaɪtʃeɪd plænt/
- Specialized
:
planta de belladona
- After careful research, we decided to avoid growing any nightshade plants in our vegetable garden due to their toxicity.
It's actually part of the nightshade family, comes from a nightshade plant from what I understand.
- It's actually part of the nightshade family, comes from a nightshade plant from what I understand.
Examples
-
The gardener warned us that some nightshade plants are poisonous and should be handled with care.
-
I learned that the nightshade plant family includes both toxic and edible varieties, such as potatoes and peppers.
-
It's actually part of the nightshade family, comes from a nightshade plant from what I understand.
Synonyms
8
7.9
Plants that are sometimes poisonous and sometimes have fruits you can eat like tomatoes
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a plant belonging to the nightshade group' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'nightshade' (a type of plant, often poisonous) with 'plant' (a multicellular photosynthetic organism). This noun+noun attributive pattern is compositional and common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will understand the MWE.
Etymology
Nightshade plant may come from its dark, shiny berries and the way it often grows in cool, shaded places, so people thought of it as a plant of the night and the shade. That's why the name now tells us the plant can be 'poisonous' or dangerous.