Definition

1. Noun:
   • Water lettuce: A free-floating aquatic plant with light green, velvety leaves that form a rosette, commonly found in still or slow-moving freshwater bodies in tropical and subtropical regions. Its scientific name is Pistia stratiotes.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Ao nhà tôi đầy bèo cái. (My pond is full of water lettuce.)
  • Bèo cái có thể sinh sản rất nhanh. (Water lettuce can reproduce very quickly.)

Advanced Usage

• Ecological Context: Often discussed in terms of its rapid growth, which can cover water surfaces, block sunlight, and affect aquatic ecosystems. It can be both a beneficial habitat for small organisms and an invasive nuisance.
  • Sự phát triển quá mức của bèo cái có thể gây hại cho hồ. (The overgrowth of water lettuce can be harmful to the lake.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bèo tấm (duckweed): A much smaller, different genus of floating aquatic plant.
• Bèo hoa dâu (azolla): A small floating fern, often reddish.
• Lục bình (water hyacinth): Another common, but different, floating aquatic plant with showy flowers.

Synonyms

• Lục bình nước (a less common name, but note: this can cause confusion with the more common "lục bình" for water hyacinth).
• Rau trôi (a regional/folk name, literally "floating vegetable").

Related Phrases

• Phủ kín như bèo cái: (Covered as densely as water lettuce) - An idiom describing something that covers a surface completely and thickly.
  • Cỏ mọc phủ kín như bèo cái. (The grass grew, covering the ground as densely as water lettuce.)

Notes on Meaning

• The term "bèo cái" is specific to this particular plant species. The word "bèo" alone is a general term for various floating aquatic plants. The modifier "cái" here likely denotes a primary, common, or larger type, distinguishing it from other kinds of "bèo" like "bèo tấm" (duckweed). It is not typically used in a compound form beyond its direct botanical reference.

1. Pistia