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Glite Dictionary
purple silkweed

purple silkweed

9.9
A plant that lives for many years and has pink-purple flowers attracting butterflies
  • noun
  • US
translation icon : asclepia púrpura
  • The garden was filled with purple silkweed, attracting dozens of butterflies.

Examples

  • Researchers study purple silkweed for its role in supporting monarch caterpillars.

  • The purple silkweed blooms beautifully in late summer.

  • We spotted a field of blooming purple silkweed along the roadside.

  • I saw a purple silkweed in my garden.

  • The garden was filled with purple silkweed, attracting dozens of butterflies.

  • We spotted a field of blooming purple silkweed along the roadside.

  • The purple silkweed blooms beautifully in late summer.

Synonyms

Asclepias purpurascens
vspurple silkweed
  • Specialized
9.9

A perennial plant with pink and purple flowers that attracts butterflies

is the common or everyday name rather than the scientific term

Surface Forms

purple silkweed singular
purple silkweeds plural

Morphology

purple + silkweed

The phrase is a straightforward adjective+noun combination: 'purple' specifies the color of the noun 'silkweed', so the meaning (a silkweed plant that is purple) is directly compositional. This adjective–noun pattern is cross-linguistically common and would be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.

Etymology

Purple silkweed gets its name from two simple images: the plant's seed pods have soft, silky hairs like silk, and its flowers are pink-purple. So the name tells you this is a plant with silk-like seeds and purple flowers that attract butterflies.