painted nettle
- noun
- /ˈpeɪntɪd ˈnɛtəl/
:
ortiga pintada
- She enjoys growing painted nettle indoors because of its attractive, variegated foliage.
Examples
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The garden was filled with painted nettle, adding splashes of pink and purple to the borders.
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Many landscapers recommend painted nettle for creating vibrant container displays.
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My grandmother loves her painted nettle plants.
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The painted nettle adds vibrant color to the garden.
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Many landscapers recommend painted nettle for creating vibrant container displays.
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She enjoys growing painted nettle indoors because of its attractive, variegated foliage.
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The garden was filled with painted nettle, adding splashes of pink and purple to the borders.
Synonyms
1
8.8
A tropical plant with bright, colorful leaves grown for decoration
A garden plant with large bright leaves that people grow for color
A garden plant with large bright patterned leaves grown for its color, also called coleus
A garden plant with large, brightly coloured leaves grown for decoration
A garden plant that lives for many years and has large bright leaves of red, yellow, and green
A tropical plant grown for its bright, colourful leaves and blue flowers
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'painted' (marked with colors) + 'nettle' (a plant) yields a plant notable for its colored/variegated leaves, so a learner who knows both words can infer it's an ornamental, brightly colored plant. The adjective+noun pattern is cross-linguistically regular and does not require idiomatic knowledge, making the expression immediately understandable to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Painted nettle comes from the plant's bright, patterned leaves. The word painted means the colours look like someone painted the leaves, and the word nettle is an old name for leafy plants. That's why painted nettle means a colourful garden or house plant, also called 'coleus'.