trumpet flower

Meaning

1. 1nouncountable

   A plant whose long, flared blossoms look like the bell of a trumpet, especially a vigorous climbing vine grown for its showy orange or red flowers.

   Grammar: Takes a plural: several trumpet flowers; the name covers many unrelated plants.

   Patterns

   • a trumpet flower vine
   • trumpet flowers on something

   A trumpet flower had climbed the whole length of the fence and was covered in orange blossoms.

   Hummingbirds visit the trumpet flower outside our kitchen window every morning.

   She planted a trumpet flower beside the porch so it would shade the wall in summer.

Word forms

Common combinations

trumpet flower vine

The trumpet flower vine took over the garage wall within two summers.

orange trumpet flower

An orange trumpet flower glowed against the dark green leaves.

prune a trumpet flower

You should prune a trumpet flower hard in late winter to keep it under control.

trumpet flower blooms

The trumpet flower blooms attract bees all through July.

climbing trumpet flower

A climbing trumpet flower can pull down a weak trellis.

Synonyms and how they differ

trumpet vine

Trumpet vine names the climbing plant itself, while trumpet flower can refer to either the plant or a single blossom.

campsis

Campsis is the botanical genus name, so it suits gardening books better than casual talk.

angel's trumpet

Angel's trumpet is a different, drooping, highly poisonous shrub, so it is not interchangeable with the climbing vine.

Word family

trumpet noun

the brass instrument whose bell shape gives the flower its name

trumpet-shaped adjective

having a narrow tube that opens out into a wide flare

flower noun

the blossom of a plant

flowering adjective

producing blossoms

Commonly confused: trumpet flower or trumpet creeper?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “trumpet flower”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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