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stonecrop

stonecrop

8.8
A small plant with thick, fleshy leaves and small flowers that grows in rocky soil
  • noun
  • /ˈstoʊnˌkrɒp/
  • Specialized
translation icon : sedum
  • Those butterflies fluttered near the ground in search of their stunted host plants, stonecrops, where they lay their eggs.
  • plants, including stonecrop

Examples

  • Primulas up to this level, no higher; deodar here, stonecrops, and rock jasmines giving way to lichens...

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Georgia botanist James R. Allison had been contracted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 1989 to conduct a survey of Nevius's stonecrop, a candidate for the federal list of endangered and threatened species.

    Academic text (2009)
  • "The willows and stonecrops are remarkable," he added.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Top left: Stonecrop grows beside lichen-encrusted boulders.

    Academic text (2011)
  • The fleshy leaves of stonecrop (Sedum acre) suggest its use to cure kidney problems (Bennett 2007).

    Academic text (2018)
  • Finally, for a few months last year, Case worked under some garden professionals at the stonecrop Garden in Cold Spring, New York, and enjoyed the experience immensely.

  • Top left: Stonecrop grows beside lichen-encrusted boulders.

  • I am partial to stonecrop (Sedum cauticola), with its gray leaves.

Compounds

stonecrop family
  • Specialized
8.6

Plants like Sedum with thick leaves that store water and need little care

Surface Forms

stonecrop singular
stonecrops plural

Morphology

stonecrop = stone + crop (transparent) = stone + crop

The compound directly denotes a plant ('crop') associated with stones or stony places, so a learner knowing 'stone' and 'crop' can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Stonecrop comes from the simple parts stone and crop, where crop means 'a thing that grows'. That's why a stonecrop is a small, tough plant that often grows on stones and in rocky soil.