Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
obedience plant

obedience plant

9.9
A Caribbean plant with white flowers whose root makes arrowroot starch used in cooking
  • noun
  • UK
translation icon : planta obediente
  • The root of the obedience plant is processed to make arrowroot flour used in cooking.

Examples

  • Farmers in the Caribbean cultivate obedience plant for its starchy rhizomes.

  • The obedience plant is known for its beautiful white flowers.

  • Traditional remedies sometimes use extracts from the obedience plant root.

  • Many gardeners love the obedience plant for its easy care.

  • Farmers in the Caribbean cultivate obedience plant for its starchy rhizomes.

  • The root of the obedience plant is processed to make arrowroot flour used in cooking.

  • Extracts from the obedience plant root are often used in traditional remedies.

Synonyms

arrowroot
vsobedience plant
1 6.9

A tropical plant with roots that make a fine starch for cooking

specifies the West Indian white-flowered variety rather than the general tropical species
Maranta arundinaceae
vsobedience plant
  • Specialized
9.9

A tropical plant with white flowers whose root makes arrowroot starch used in cooking

is focused on the plant itself and its starch not on industrial use
American arrowroot
vsobedience plant
  • US
8.6

A West Indian plant whose root makes a fine starch used to thicken food

is defined by its white flowers and starch production rather than culinary use

Surface Forms

obedience plant singular
obedience plants plural

Morphology

obedience + plant

Although the second constituent 'plant' is transparent, the modifier 'obedience' does not compositionally convey the botanical identity, white flowers, geographic origin, or use as arrowroot starch; it is a lexicalized common name. Common names for species are often arbitrary or historically motivated, so a B1 learner who knows 'obedience' and 'plant' would not be able to derive the specific meaning from the parts alone.

Etymology

Obedience plant is called that because one popular story says the plant's root seemed to obey farmers: when they planted and worked it, it always gave a good 'arrowroot starch' for cooking. So the name reminds people that the plant's root is useful and dependable.