sand spurry
- noun
- UK
:
spergularia
- We found patches of sand spurry blooming among the heathland grasses.
Examples
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The sand spurry thrives on sandy dunes along the coastal cliffs.
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Gardeners consider sand spurry a weed due to its rapid spread in sandy soil.
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The sand spurry blooms in spring.
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We saw sand spurries growing along the path.
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Gardeners consider sand spurry a weed due to its rapid spread in sandy soil.
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The sand spurry thrives on sandy dunes along the coastal cliffs.
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We found patches of sand spurry blooming among the heathland grasses.
Synonyms
A low plant with small pink flowers that often grows as a weed in sandy places
A low plant with small pink flowers that grows on sandy coasts
A group of small plants that grow on sandy coasts in Europe and Asia
Surface Forms
Morphology
sand + spurry
The compound is a simple noun–noun subtype where 'sand' modifies 'spurry' to indicate the habitat or variety of the plant, so a learner who knows 'spurry' as a plant name can transparently infer 'a spurry that grows on sandy soils'. The pattern is a regular compositional English compound, though the head 'spurry' is rare and may be unknown to many learners in practice.
Etymology
Sand spurry may come from what the plant does and where it grows: sand for the sandy places it likes, and spurry for the way the low plant 'spreads' into flat patches of tiny pink flowers. So the name points to a small, low herb that often grows on sand and is seen as a 'weed'.
