painted cup

9.6

A wild plant with bright red or orange flower parts that look like a brush

noun
/ˈpeɪntɪd kʌp/

: pincel de indio

The painted cup is known for its distinctive, brightly colored bracts that often outshine its actual flowers.

Examples

Many hikers enjoy spotting the delicate painted cup along mountain trails during the blooming season.
Wild painted cup flowers added a splash of red to the meadow in early spring.
The painted cup blooms in vibrant colors during spring.
I saw a beautiful painted cup at the botanical garden.
Many hikers enjoy spotting the delicate painted cup along mountain trails during the blooming season.
The painted cup is known for its distinctive, brightly colored bracts that often outshine its actual flowers.
Wild painted cup flowers added a splash of red to the meadow in early spring.

Synonyms

Indian paintbrush

vspainted cup

1 6.8

A wild plant with bright red or orange flowers found in North America

is the wider traditional name stressing dense spikes and colorful bracts

Castilleja

vspainted cup

Specialized

9.9

Plants from the western Americas that often take food from grass roots and have bright red or orange flowers

is the common name that highlights bright, hooded flowers and colorful bracts

Surface Forms

painted cup singular

painted cups plural

Morphology

painted + cup

The phrase is built from transparent visual descriptors — 'painted' (colorful/appearing painted) and 'cup' (cup-shaped) — so a learner who knows both words can infer something that looks colorful and cup-like. However, recognising this as the name of a plant genus (Indian paintbrush) is not fully predictable from the constituents alone and requires lexical or cultural knowledge, so the relation is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Painted cup comes from the plant's bright, cup-shaped outer parts that look as if someone had painted a small cup. That's why the name now means 'a colorful wildflower'.