The word "蔓生" is formed by combining the character "蔓", meaning vine or creeping plant, which itself consists of the grass radical (艹) indicating plants and the component "曼" providing phonetic and semantic hints of extension, with the character "生", meaning to grow or life. Together, "蔓" modifies "生" to create a compound that literally denotes vine-like growth, conveying the specific concept of creeping or spreading growth.