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Glite Dictionary
purple-hooded orchis

purple-hooded orchis

9.9
A North American wildflower with a tall spike of purple and white flowers whose parts form a hood
  • noun
  • US
translation icon : orquídea con capucha morada
  • The purple-hooded orchis blooms in early spring across parts of eastern North America.

Examples

  • Botanists identified a rare purple-hooded orchis growing near the riverbank.

  • Many gardeners admire the unique coloration of the purple-hooded orchis in their native plant collections.

  • Look at that stunning purple-hooded orchis over there!

  • The purple-hooded orchis blooms in early spring.

  • Botanists identified a rare purple-hooded orchis growing near the riverbank.

  • Many gardeners admire the unique coloration of the purple-hooded orchis in their native plant collections.

  • The purple-hooded orchis blooms in early spring across parts of eastern North America.

Synonyms

purple orchis
vspurple-hooded orchis
  • US
9.9

A North American orchid with a long stem of purple and white flowers that form a hood

uses a longer compound name rather than a short common name
showy orchis
vspurple-hooded orchis
  • US
9.9

An orchid from North America with a tall spike of purple and white flowers whose petals form a hood

uses a more neutral compound name instead of a descriptive common name
Orchis spectabilis
vspurple-hooded orchis
  • Specialized
9.9

A North American orchid with spikes of purple and white flowers whose petals and sepals form a hood

uses a familiar common compound name rather than a Latin scientific name

Surface Forms

purple-hooded orchis singular
purple-hooded orchises plural

Morphology

purple-hooded + Orchis

The phrase 'purple-hooded orchis' is fully compositional: 'purple-hooded' describes the color and hooded shape of the flower parts and 'orchis' names the plant genus, so the meaning is an orchid with a purple hood. A B1 learner who knows 'purple', 'hooded', and 'orchis' can readily infer this from standard adjectival+noun composition (a common cross-linguistic pattern), so the expression is transparent.

Etymology

Purple-hooded orchis comes from how the flower looks: its purple petals form a small hood over the center, and 'orchis' is a word for this kind of orchid. So the name points to a purple, hood-shaped flower and helps people identify the species.