red Clintonia
- noun
- Specialized
:
Clintonia roja
- We saw a red Clintonia blooming along the hiking trail in northern California.
Examples
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Gardeners in Oregon often admire the unique appearance of red Clintonia in the wild.
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The red Clintonia is easily identified by its striking stalk of reddish flowers.
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The red Clintonia blooms beautifully in the spring.
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Have you seen a red Clintonia before?
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In California, hikers often stop to photograph the vibrant red Clintonia blooming along the paths.
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During spring, the red Clintonia showcases its stunning clusters of red flowers in natural habitats.
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Botanists in Oregon study the growth patterns of red Clintonia to understand its native ecosystem.
Synonyms
A plant from California and Oregon with a tall stalk topped by red or pale purple flowers
A small forest plant with nearly leafless stalks and red or pale purple flower clusters from California to Oregon
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a simple adjective + noun composition: 'red' modifies the noun 'Clintonia', so the phrase denotes a Clintonia plant that is red in color (e.g., red flowers or red parts). Color + noun combinations are cross-linguistically common and follow standard compositional patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can reliably infer the meaning.
Etymology
Red Clintonia comes from its bright red flowers and the name Clintonia, which honors a man named Clinton who helped early plant collectors. The image of a tall stalk covered in red flowers makes the name easy to remember, so it means 'the Clintonia plant with red flowers'.
