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Glite Dictionary
sundew plant

sundew plant

9.2
A small plant that grows in wet ground and has sticky leaves that catch and digest insects
  • noun
  • /ˈsʌnˌduː plænt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : droséra
  • The sundew plant thrives in wet, boggy areas.

Examples

  • In the wetlands, the sundew plant uses its hair-covered leaves to trap unsuspecting flies and other insects.

  • The sundew plant uses its sticky leaves to capture unsuspecting insects.

  • A sundew plant can curl its leaves around trapped prey to aid digestion.

  • In their natural habitat, sundew plants thrive in nutrient-poor boggy soils.

  • Many gardeners grow sundew plants for their unique features.

  • The gardener was amazed to find a sundew plant in his bog, with its sticky leaves capturing insects.

  • Students learned about the sundew plant and its unique ability to digest insects trapped on its sticky leaves.

Synonyms

carnivorous plant
vssundew plant
1 4.6

A plant that eats insects and small animals to get food

is narrower referring only to bog genus plants with sticky hairs
sundew
vssundew plant
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A small plant that eats insects with sticky leaves, often found in wet places

is broader applying to various genus members beyond small ones
Drosera
vssundew plant
  • Specialized
9.9

A plant with sticky leaves that trap insects and feed on them

is the common name used for those genus plants
daily dew
vssundew plant
  • Specialized
9.9

A small bog plant with leaves covered in sticky hairs that trap and eat insects

is the more familiar modern name instead of that variant

How Carnivorous

sundew plant
  • Specialized
9.2

Surface Forms

sundew plant singular
sundew plants plural

Morphology

sundew + plant

The phrase is fully compositional: 'sundew' names a particular insect‑catching organism and 'plant' marks its biological category, so the combined noun phrase simply identifies that kind of plant. A B1 learner who knows the constituent meanings can therefore derive the MWE's meaning; noun+category constructions like this are common and predictable across languages.

Etymology

Sundew plant comes from the bright sticky drops on its leaves that shine like dew in the sun. Those drops trap insects, so the name reminds us that the plant is 'insect-eating'.