poinciana

English

Etymology

Modern Latin: after M. de Poinci, a 17th-century governor of the Antilles + -ana.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɑːnə

Noun

poinciana (plural poincianas)

1. A tropical tree, of species Delonix regia, with bright red flowers, native to Madagascar and now widely cultivated as an ornamental; the royal poinciana or flamboyant.
   • 1987, Hilary Thompson, Common Birds of the Darwin Area, Winnellie: Sandpiper Productions, page vii:

     [I]n disturbed areas, like East Point, exotic trees like poinciana and "coffee bush" invade the edges.

2. A tropical shrub, Caesalpinia pulcherrima, with bright orange-red flowers, originally native to the Americas and now widely cultivated as an ornamental.

Derived terms

• royal poinciana