railroad vine
- noun
- /ˈreɪlˌrɔrd vaɪn/
- US
:
enredadera de ferrocarril
- Railroad vine helps stabilize sand dunes along the Gulf Coast with its extensive root system.
Examples
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The bright purple flowers of the railroad vine are a striking sight on the beach in summer.
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Conservationists are planting railroad vine to protect fragile coastal habitats from erosion.
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The railroad vine blooms beautifully in the summer.
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Many railroad vines thrive along the coastline.
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Railroad vine helps stabilize sand dunes along the Gulf Coast with its extensive root system.
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Conservationists are planting railroad vine to protect fragile coastal habitats from erosion.
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The bright purple flowers of the railroad vine are a striking sight on the beach in summer.
Synonyms
116
1.0
A plant with a long stem that climbs or trails along fences and walls
A spreading plant with purple flowers that grows on sandy beaches
A low plant with long stems and large flowers that grows on sandy beaches
Surface Forms
Morphology
railroad + vine
The noun 'vine' clearly signals that this is a type of climbing/creeping plant, so a learner who knows the constituents would at least infer the general category. However, 'railroad' does not transparently convey the specific habitat, growth form, or coastal-dune association described in the definition (and could be misinterpreted as a vine that grows by railways), and plant common names are often arbitrary. Because the category is clear but the specific referent and attributes are not predictable from the modifier, the MWE is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Railroad vine may come from the way its long, low stems run across the sand like small railroad 'tracks' and so it is a spreading vine. That's why railroad vine now means this creeping coastal plant.