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Definition of Poinsettia - 4 dictionary results

poin⋅set⋅ti⋅a

[poin-set-ee-uh, -set-uh]
–noun
a plant, Euphorbia (Poinsettia) pulcherrima, of the spurge family, native to Mexico and Central America, having variously lobed leaves and brilliant scarlet, pink, or white petallike bracts.

Origin:
1830–40; < NL, named after J. R. Poinsett (1799–1851), American minister to Mexico, who discovered the plant there in 1828; see -ia
poin·set·ti·a   (poin-sět'ē-ə, -sět'ə)   
n.  A tropical American shrub (Euphorbia pulcherrima) that has showy, usually scarlet bracts beneath the small yellow flowerlike inflorescences.

[New Latin, after Joel Roberts Poinsett (1779-1851), American diplomat.]

Poinsettia

Poin*set"ti*a\ (poin*s[e^]t"t[i^]*[.a]), n. [NL. Named after Joel R. Poinsett of South Carolina.] (Bot.) A Mexican shrub (Euphorbia pulcherrima) with very large and conspicuous vermilion bracts below the yellowish flowers.

poinsettia 
1836, Mod.L. genus name, in allusion to Joel R. Poinsett (1779-1851), U.S. ambassador to Mexico, who is said to have brought the plant to the attention of botanists.
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