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Glite Dictionary
potato vine

potato vine

1 4.3
A climbing plant with light-blue flowers used to decorate walls and fences
  • noun
  • /pəˈteɪtoʊ vaɪn/
translation icon : enredadera de papa
  • And the sweet potato vines are magnificent against the perfect backdrop of the grey shakes on your home—beautiful.
  • a sweet potato vine
  • a white-flowered potato vine

It's a very more compact potato vine.

Examples

  • In my garden, the potato vine sprawls across the fence, showcasing its vibrant blooms.

  • So I had a potato vine that did excellent.

  • Your sweet potato vine looks great!

    Blog text (25)

  • I have potato vine everywhere, and it comes back.

    Blog text (25)

  • So anyway, this area here, I planted some sweet Caroline Raven potato vines along this wall.

  • I am delighted by the growth of the sweet potato vine in each of the planters in the front of our house; they seem to me like long, flowing hair cascading down the side of the planter.

    Blog text (25)

  • The trellis was beautifully adorned with the bright flowers of the potato vine.

  • The potato vine twined elegantly around the poles, filling the area with color and charm.

Synonyms

Solanum jasminoides
vspotato vine
  • Specialized
9.6

A climbing plant with many branches and white flowers grown in gardens

is the general term for climbing or branching ornamentals with showy flowers
giant potato creeper
vspotato vine
9.9

A vine from Costa Rica with large purple-blue flowers and hook-shaped spines

is broader, covering similar ornamentals regardless of spines or geographic origin
Solanum wendlandii
vspotato vine
  • Specialized
9.9

A climbing plant with hooklike spines and large lilac-blue flowers

is less specific about spines, focusing on general climbing ornamental use
Solanum crispum
vspotato vine
  • Specialized
9.9

A hardy climbing bush from Chile that gardeners grow for its sweet-smelling blue-purple flowers

refers more generally to climbing or branching ornamentals, not specifically hardy shrubs

Surface Forms

potato vine singular
potato vines plural

Morphology

potato + vine

The noun phrase is compositionally interpretable — a B1 learner who knows 'potato' and 'vine' will infer it denotes a type of vine associated with or reminiscent of potatoes. However, the specific horticultural sense (an ornamental climbing plant with showy flowers and not necessarily producing edible tubers) is not fully predictable from the parts, so exact meaning requires exposure.

Etymology

The name potato vine may come from its link to the potato plant: its leaves and small star-shaped flowers look like potato flowers, and some kinds grow from thick roots like little potatoes. That's why gardeners called the climbing vine a potato vine, and today the name means a bright, flowering 'climbing plant' used in gardens.