English edit

Etymology edit

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

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

poinciana (plural poincianas)

  1. A tropical tree, 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 edit