| 释义 |
ˈcottonwood, ˈcotton-wood
1. a. The name of several species of poplar (Populus) in U.S.; so called from the cotton-like substance surrounding the seeds. Also cottonwood tree.
1823J. D. Hunter Captivity 140 River bottom lands..support large growths of trees, consisting of cotton wood (Populus angulata). 1827J. Cooper Prairie ii, He buried his axe to the eye in the soft body of a cotton-wood tree. 1851Mayne Reid Scalp Hunt. xviii, A shady clump of cotton-woods invited us to rest.
b. Comb. cottonwood dagger, the name of a moth (Acronycta populi), the larva of which feeds on these trees.
1870Riley Missouri Rep. Insects 119.
2. An Australian evergreen shrub, Bedfordia salicina, of the family Compositæ, which can grow to the size of a small tree. Also called blanket-leaf.
1889J. H. Maiden Useful Native Pl. Australia 386 The ‘Cotton-wood’ of Southern New South Wales. 1965Austral. Encycl. III. 72/2 Bedfordia salicina is sometimes referred to as cotton-wood, the allusion being to its large leaves which are woolly-white beneath. |