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purple heather

purple heather

8.2
A low evergreen plant with small purple flowers
  • noun
  • /ˈpɜrpl ˈhɛðər/
  • US
translation icon : brezo morado
  • The garden was filled with purple heather.

Examples

  • The hills were covered in purple heather during the late spring.

  • Gardeners in the region often cultivate purple heather for its ornamental value.

  • Botanists are studying the resilience of purple heather in changing climates.

  • I love the smell of purple heather in the spring.

  • The bright purple heather covered the hills, creating a stunning landscape.

  • In late summer, the fields were filled with purple heather, attracting many bees.

  • Walking through the valley, we admired the vibrant purple heather blooming all around us.

Synonyms

Phyllodoce breweri
vspurple heather
  • Specialized
9.9

A low spreading evergreen plant that grows on rocky mountain slopes in western United States

focuses on having distinctive purple flowers rather than its family classification

Surface Forms

Morphology

purple + heather

The meaning is directly compositional: an adjective 'purple' modifying the noun 'heather' yields a heather plant that is purple in color. This adjective+noun pattern is a straightforward, cross-linguistically common way to specify color, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Purple heather comes from the plant's look: the low evergreen heather is covered in small purple flowers that often turn hills into a purple carpet. So the name refers to that 'evergreen herb' with purple blooms.