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Glite Dictionary
umbrella sedge

umbrella sedge

8.9
A water plant from Africa with a top group of thin leaves that spread like an umbrella
  • noun
  • South African
translation icon : juncos paraguas
  • The umbrella sedge is often planted around garden ponds for its striking appearance.

Examples

  • Many nurseries recommend the umbrella sedge as a low-maintenance aquatic plant.

  • Botanists admire the umbrella sedge for its unique cluster of radiating leaves.

  • The umbrella sedge adds beauty to the garden.

  • I saw an umbrella sedge at the botanical garden.

  • Botanists admire the umbrella sedge for its unique cluster of radiating leaves.

  • Many nurseries recommend the umbrella sedge as a low-maintenance aquatic plant.

  • The umbrella sedge is often planted around garden ponds for its striking appearance.

Synonyms

Cyperus alternifolius
vsumbrella sedge
  • Specialized
9.9

A water plant from Africa with thin grasslike leaves in an umbrella shape at each stem tip

is the common descriptive name rather than the scientific term
umbrella plant
vsumbrella sedge
  • South African
6.6

An African water plant with a circular fan of thin grass-like leaves used in ponds

is a narrower term indicating a specific species rather than any aquatic plant

Surface Forms

umbrella sedge singular
umbrella sedges plural

Morphology

umbrella + sedge

The meaning is directly compositional: 'umbrella' describes the umbrella-like shape of the plant and 'sedge' names the grasslike plant, so a learner who knows both words can infer 'a sedge with an umbrella-shaped cluster of leaves'. This noun+noun descriptive pattern is common and cross-linguistically transparent, making the MWE readily understandable to a B1 learner.

Etymology

The compound noun umbrella sedge comes from the plant's top group of thin, grasslike leaves that spread out in a circle like an umbrella, while sedge is a kind of grass. So the name gives a simple picture and now refers to this 'water plant'.