narrow-leavedadj.
/ˌnarəʊˈliːvd/, U.S. /ˈnɛroʊˌlivd/ Having narrow leaves. Chiefly in plant names.Many such names exist; only a small selection is represented here.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > leaf > plant defined by leaves > [adjective] > having leaves of particular shape or size
broad-leaved1552
long-leaved1562
narrow-leaved1578
round-leaved1597
small-leaved1597
long-leafed1629
rosemary-leaved1633
rue-leaved1633
teretifolious1657
cut-leaved1731
longleaf1733
channel-leaved1758
halberd-shaped1770
alder-leaved1772
oak-leaved1776
holly-leaved1777
ivy-leaved1789
halberd-headed1795
daisy-leaved1796
narrow-leaf1804
oblique-leaved1807
sword-leaved1807
wing-leaved1822
flaggy1842
curly1845
macrophyllous1857
parvifolious1857
shield-leaved1860
curled1861
symphyllous1877
beak-leaved188.
stenophyllous1880
thread-leaved1884
megaphyllous1901
little leaf1908
ivy-leaf1909
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball ii. xxxv. 193 The narrow leaued Ireos, his flagges be long and narrowe.
1629 J. Parkinson Paradisi in Sole 182 It may fitly bee called a narrow leafed Flowerdeluce.
1658 Sir T. Browne Garden of Cyrus iv, in Hydriotaphia: Urne-buriall 176 Why coniferous Trees are tenuifolious or narrow leafed.
1754 M. Catesby & G. Edwards Nat. Hist. Carolina (rev. ed.) I. 69 The narrow-leaved Candle-berry Myrtle.
1766 Compl. Farmer at Lavender There are two sorts, distinguished by the names of lavender spike, and common narrow leaved lavender.
1805 M. Lewis in Lewis & Clark Exped. (1904) II. 303 The underwood consists of the narrowleafed or small willow,..allso..a species of dwarf burch.
1879 J. Lubbock Sci. Lect. ii. 46 Caterpillars which live on or among narrow-leaved plants.
1915 M. Armstrong & J. J. Thornber Field Bk. Western Wild Flowers 106 Narrow-leaved Umbrella-wort. Alhonia linearis.
1926 Poison Plants W. Austral. (W. Austral. Dept. Agric.) 33 The name ‘Narrow-leaved Poison’ as here adopted for Gastrolobium crassifolium..in some districts..is also applied to Champion Bay Poison..Pituri..White Gum Poison..and Rock Poison.
1960 Times 3 Dec. 9/4 (caption) An arrangement of house plants containing..a narrow-leaved codiaeum, an aechmea, and Sciadapsus ‘Marble Green’.
1997 National Trust Mag. Spring 33/4 Of particular interest are..the splendid Narrow-leaved royal fern (Osmunda gracilis) and a large specimen of Bevis's soft shield fern.
Compounds
narrow-leaved dock n. U.S. regional (southern) = narrow dock n. at narrow adj. and n. Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
1810 Boylan's N.-Carolina Almanack 1811 37 Cancer [Remedy]... Let the roots of Sour Dock (sometimes called Narrow-Leaf Dock) be washed clean and put into a moderate quantity of water.]
1845 P. Thornton Southern Gardener & Receipt Bk. (ed. 2) 311 Take the narrow-leafed dock-root, and boil it in water till it be quite soft.
1985 B. Neal Southern Cooking (1989) v. 62 Poke, narrow-leaved dock, creasie greens, lamb's quarter..and pigweed could be gathered practically throughout the year.
narrow-leaved everlasting pea n. a European vetchling, Lathyrus sylvestris, of hedges and wood borders, esp. on chalk and limestone, which has narrower leaves and duller flowers than L. latifolius (the everlasting pea grown in gardens).
ΚΠ
1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 3) III. 634 Lathyrus..sylvestris... Narrow-leaved Pease-everlasting, or Vetchling.]
1833 Hist. Berwickshire Naturalists' Club 1 i. 29 Narrow-leaved Ever~lasting Pea.
1922 H. S. Salt Call of Wildflower ix. 75 One may still find there the narrow-leaved everlasting pea, ‘hanging in festoons on thickets and copses’.
1998 J. Killick et al. Flora Oxfordshire 170/1 L. sylvestris L. Narrow-leaved Everlasting-pea... In thickets, woodland rides and margins.
narrow-leaved plantain n. = ribwort n.
ΚΠ
1763 J. Mills New Syst. Pract. Husbandry III. 345 I do not know that the narrow leaved plantain, or ribwort (Plantago angustifolia) hath ever been cultivated purposely for the food of cattle.
1883 Cent. Mag. Nov. 107/2 Narrow-leaved plantain, a few buttercups, a small yellow flower unknown to me (probably ladies' fingers).
1937 S. F. Armstrong Brit. Grasses (ed. 3) viii. 166 The Ribwort or Narrow-leaved Plantain (P. lanceolata) is a valuable grazing plant for sheep on sandy soils in the south and east of England.
1996 Ecology 77 536 Two lepidopteran species..that differ in feeding specialization on narrow-leaved plantain.
narrow-leaved vetch n. a European vetch of dry grassland, Vicia angustifolia, naturalized in the United States and now usually regarded as comprising two subspecies of the common vetch, V. sativa subsp. nigra and subsp. segetalis.
ΚΠ
1898 N. Colgan & R. W. Scully Contrib. Cybele Hibernica (ed. 2) 93 V[icia] angustifolia Roth—Narrow-leaved Vetch... Sandy pastures and banks by the sea.
1947 D. H. Robinson Leguminous Forage Plants (ed. 2) vii. 98 The Common Vetch (V. sativa L.)..by some is thought to be a cultivated form of the Narrow-leaved Vetch (V. angustifolia Roth.).
1974 Science 8 Mar. 915 Selenium indicator plants that have been studied in some detail are Astralagus pectinatus (narrow-leaved vetch), [etc.].
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adj.1578