white fairy lantern
- noun
- US
:
linterna de hadas blanca
- The white fairy lantern is known for its unique clusters of egg-shaped blooms that thrive in the California climate.
Examples
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In late spring, the white fairy lantern blooms dot the hillsides of southern California.
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Gardeners prize the delicate beauty of the white fairy lantern for native plant landscapes.
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Botanists studied the unique reproductive process of the white fairy lantern to better understand its adaptation to the environment.
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Look at that stunning white fairy lantern in the garden!
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The white fairy lantern blooms beautifully in spring.
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In late spring, the white fairy lantern blossoms create a stunning display across the hillsides of southern California.
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Gardeners love to include the white fairy lantern in their native plant gardens for its elegant white flowers.
Synonyms
A small wild lily with white cup-shaped flowers that grows in southern California
A plant with branching clusters of white, egg-shaped flowers
A small plant that has egg shaped flowers
A North American plant with small round flowers often grown in gardens
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally built from transparent words — a B1 learner would plausibly infer a small white lantern-like object because 'white', 'fairy', and 'lantern' retain their usual senses. However, the actual referent is a plant (a globe lily), so the name is a metaphorical extension and not fully predictable from the constituents; such plant-naming metaphors are common but require prior exposure to link the word to a flower.
Etymology
The noun white fairy lantern comes from how the plant looks: its small, round white flowers hang in groups like tiny lanterns and look like 'fairy lights'. That's why the name tells you this is a plant with round, lantern-like white blooms.
