stiff aster

9.6

A plant with upright rough stems, narrow leaves, and large purple flowers that lives for many years

noun

Specialized

: aster rígido

The stiff aster flourishes in dry, sandy soils throughout the eastern United States.

Examples

We spotted a cluster of stiff asters growing at the edge of the forest.
The stiff aster blooms beautifully in late summer.
Gardeners often choose stiff aster for its hardy nature and beautiful violet blooms.
Have you seen the stiff asters in the garden?
Gardeners often choose stiff aster for its hardy nature and beautiful violet blooms.
The stiff aster flourishes in dry, sandy soils throughout the eastern United States.
We spotted a cluster of stiff asters growing at the edge of the forest.

Synonyms

Aster linarifolius

vsstiff aster

Specialized

9.9

A small wildflower that lives for several years and has narrow leaves and violet flowers

is the same plant but described in simpler, less technical language

Surface Forms

stiff aster singular

stiff asters plural

Morphology

stiff + aster

The noun phrase is a straightforward adjective+noun combination where 'stiff' describes a physical property of the 'aster' flower; the plant meaning is directly compositional and literal rather than idiomatic. This descriptive pattern is common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer it refers to an aster with rigid stems.

Etymology

Stiff aster gets its name from how the plant looks: it has stiff upright stems and its flower, an aster, comes from a Greek word meaning 'star' because the bloom looks like a star. So the name simply tells you it's a plant with stiff stems and star-shaped flowers.