tall sunflower
- noun
- /tɔl ˈsʌnˌfloʊər/
- US
:
girasol alto
- Early settlers used the edible roots of the tall sunflower as a food source.
Examples
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I planted a few tall sunflowers in the backyard for their impressive height and attractive blooms.
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The tall sunflower stood above the other plants in the garden, its yellow petals catching the sunlight.
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The tall sunflower swayed gently in the breeze.
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I planted a tall sunflower in my garden this spring.
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I planted some tall sunflowers in my garden because they have delicious edible roots.
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The tall sunflower grew so high that it overshadowed all the other flowers in the bed.
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Farmers in the Midwest often cultivate tall sunflowers for their nutritious tuberous roots.
Synonyms
A very tall sunflower with thick edible roots
A very tall plant like a sunflower that has roots you can eat
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining the adjective 'tall' (higher than typical in stature) with 'sunflower' (a tall plant with yellow flowers), so it denotes a sunflower that is taller than usual. This adjective + noun composition is a basic, cross-linguistically common pattern and would be immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
The name tall sunflower comes from early farmers who found a very tall plant with a bright, sun-like flower and roots they could eat. Because it was both tall and a kind of sunflower, people called it tall sunflower, so today the name means that tall plant with 'edible roots'.
