FLORAMORPHS
A Floramorph is a word or phrase that refers to or reflects flora (plant-life) in order to describe something other than that plant.
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The existence of floramorphs in our daily speech was a strong motivator to branch out from earlier faunamorphic explorations to establish that we humans not only consider ourselves to be fauna, but deep down we believe that on a grander scale, we are environment, pure and simple. All of it.
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General Plant World
To have a green thumb; live in a concrete jungle; drain the swamp (or fill it fuller); greenwash; be ripe; die on the vine; make hay while the sun shines; straw poll.
Trees and Bushes
Tree hugger; family tree; go out on a limb; be up a tree; shake the trees; spruce up; branch out; willowy; windfall; easy as falling off a log
Vegetables, Grains, Tubers, Legumes, and other Edibles
Be a vegetable; full of beans; my sweet pea!; sew wild oats; be a bean counter; peel the onion; pea-brained; corn-fed boy; cauliflower ears; like two peas in a pod; sour as a pickle
Grasses, Weeds, Herbs, Mosses
Be put out to pasture; the straw that breaks the camel’s back; draw straws; grasp at straws; make hay while the sun shines; be canon fodder; grass is always greener; rolling stone gathers no moss; sprout up like a weed
More Examples of Floramophs
FLOWERS
To be a wallflower; be a wilting violet
FRUITS ‘N NUTS
Low-hanging fruit; be a fruitcake; tough nut to crack; sour grapes; I don’t give a fig! prune face; bad apple; Almond-shaped eyes; go bananas
SEEDS/ROOTS/LEAVES AND OTHER PLANT ELEMENTS OR PRODUCTS
Be a hayseed; be top seed; hand out a leaflet; take root; take a cotton to; wilted look; mushroom cloud
PERMUTATIONS AND COMBINATIONS
Vegetable ivory (tagua nut from a tropical palm); pansy violet; cherry tomato; grapefruit; orange peel fungus; water chestnut; willow oak; cottonwood
EXCLAMATIONS/INTERJECTIONS/COMMANDS/INSULTS/FOREHEAD-SLAPPERS/EXPLET***S
What am I – a potted plant?; nuts to you!; peachy keen!; cool beans!; you hayseed!; that is the last straw, mister!
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TERMS OF ENDEARMENT AND FIRST NAMES
My little buttercup; Hello there, old bean!; You are the apple of my eye
Lily; Rose; Violet; Laurel; Cherry; Heather; Berkano (birch); Sage; Fern; Ellery
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FAMOUS/INFAMOUS PROPER NAMES (for individuals, groups, or things)
Green Party; Greenpeace; Rose Bowl; Bamboo Curtain; Cactus League; Nutmeg State
(Connecticut); Spice Girls; Twiggy
GEOGRAPHY/COSMOGRAPHY/CHRONOLOGY/CALENDRICAL TERMS (Place Names; States; Names for full moons, etc.)
Bean Blossom (IN); Blue Bell (PA); Carrot Canyon (ID); Evergreen State (Washington); Flower Moon (April; Cherokee); Sunflower Galaxy (The Universe)
COLORS
lilac; lavender; cornflower blue; chestnut; pecan; mint green; cherry-red; strawberry blond (hair); cinnamon
HUMAN BODY PARTS, DIMENSIONS, CONDITIONS, FEATURES, AND FUNCTIONS
Green thumb; corn (on the toe); corn rows (on the head); peach fuzz; Adam’s apple; cauliflower ears; carrot top; limb; trunk; palm
FOODS AND DRINKS
From soup to nuts (the entire gamut); to catch a can of corn (easy pop fly, in baseball); salad days; sour grapes
YOGA POSES/POSITIONS, TAI CHI MOVEMENTS,
KUNG FU MOVES. QIGONG
Full lotus; cactus; wind brushes the emerald willow
FOREIGN LANGUAGES
German: Buchstabensalat (literally “letter salad" – crazy talk); Spanish: hojear (leaf through a book); florear (to flower); coco (literally, coconut – head)