v-par-uh-dahys, -dahyz]
| 1. | Also called bird-of-paradise flower. any of several plants of the genus Strelitzia, native to southern Africa, esp. S. reginae, having a large, showy orange and blue inflorescence. |
| 2. | a small tree or shrub, Caesalpinia (Poinciana) gilliesii, native to South America, having featherlike leaves and showy yellow flowers with red stamens. |
