prickly pine
- noun
- /ˈprɪkli paɪn/
- US
:
pino espinoso
- The forest was filled with prickly pines whose sharp cones made walking barefoot impossible.
Examples
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Scientists studied the unique bark of the prickly pine to understand its resilience to pests.
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The prickly pine thrives in rocky soil.
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The Appalachian landscape is home to several species, including the prickly pine.
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Many prickly pines grow along the Appalachian Trail.
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The Appalachian landscape is home to several species, including the prickly pine.
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Many prickly pines grow along the Appalachian Trail.
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The forest was filled with prickly pines whose sharp cones made walking barefoot impossible.
Synonyms
A small Appalachian pine with two thin needles per bundle and cones with pointed thorn-like scales
A small pine tree with two long needles, dark peeling bark, and cones with sharp tips
A small pine from eastern US mountains with dark brown peeling bark and cones with sharp points
How Spiny
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a pine tree that is prickly' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'prickly' (bearing thorns or spines) with 'pine' (a conifer). This straightforward adjective + noun composition is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer it refers to a pine with sharp or spiny features even if they don't know the precise botanical species.
Etymology
The name prickly pine comes from the tree's look: prickly points to its sharp needles and cone tips, and pine is the tree itself. So prickly pine means 'a small pine tree with sharp, prickly cones and needles', the kind you find in parts of the Appalachian forests.