In 2019, botanist Dr. Rebecca Torres discovered a previously unknown alpine ______ that survives in extreme cold at elevations above...

Let's begin by understanding the meaning of this sentence. We'll use our understanding of pause points and segment the sentence as shown - understanding and assimilating the meaning of each segment bit by bit!

Sentence Structure

• In 2019,
  • botanist Dr. Rebecca Torres
    • discovered
      • a previously unknown alpine wildflower [?]
        • that survives in extreme cold at elevations above 4,000 meters and
        • that has adapted to obtain nutrients from mineral-rich ice crystals.

Understanding the Meaning

The sentence tells us about a discovery:

• In 2019, Dr. Rebecca Torres (a botanist) discovered something—
  • a previously unknown alpine wildflower.

Now here's where we have the blank. Let's look at our choices:

• A: wildflower,
• B: wildflower (no punctuation)
• C: wildflower—
• D: wildflower, and

We're deciding whether to add punctuation after "wildflower" and if so, what kind.

To see what works here, let's read the rest of the sentence and understand what it's saying!

The sentence continues:

• "that survives in extreme cold at elevations above 4,000 meters and that has adapted to obtain nutrients from mineral-rich ice crystals."

Now let's really understand what this is telling us:

• "that survives in extreme cold at elevations above 4,000 meters"
  • This describes a key characteristic of the wildflower—
    • it can survive in extremely cold conditions at very high elevations.

• "and"
  • This connects to another characteristic.

• "that has adapted to obtain nutrients from mineral-rich ice crystals"
  • This describes another special trait—
    • the wildflower gets its nutrients from ice crystals.

So the complete picture is:

• Dr. Torres discovered a specific wildflower that has these two special traits:
  • surviving in extreme cold at high elevations, AND
  • getting nutrients from ice crystals.

What do we notice about the structure here?

• These "that" descriptions are essential information—
  • they tell us exactly WHICH wildflower was discovered.
  • Without them, we wouldn't know what makes this wildflower special or previously unknown.

• When descriptive information is essential to identifying what you're talking about, it flows directly from the noun without any punctuation break.

So we need: no punctuation after "wildflower" (Choice B).

The answer is B: wildflower (no punctuation).

GRAMMAR CONCEPT APPLIED

Essential vs. Non-Essential Descriptions: When NOT to Use Commas

When you add descriptive information after a noun, you need to decide: Is this information essential to identifying which specific thing I'm talking about? Or is it just bonus information that could be removed?

If the information is ESSENTIAL (restrictive):

• No punctuation separates it from the noun
• Example: "The scientist who discovered penicillin changed medicine forever."
  • "who discovered penicillin" is essential—it tells us which scientist
  • NO commas around this phrase

If the information is BONUS/NON-ESSENTIAL (non-restrictive):

• Commas (or dashes) set it off from the noun
• Example: "Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin, was born in Scotland."
  • We already know which scientist (Alexander Fleming is named)
  • "who discovered penicillin" is extra information
  • Commas surround this phrase

In our question:

• "wildflower that survives in extreme cold... and that has adapted to obtain nutrients..."
• These "that" clauses are essential—they define which wildflower
• Therefore: NO punctuation after "wildflower"

Quick test: Can you remove the description and still know exactly what's being discussed?

• If YES → bonus information → use commas
• If NO → essential information → no commas