burao

plural buraos · alternative burau

1. A tropical flowering tree, cottonwood hibiscus (Talipariti tiliaceum, syn. Hibiscus tiliaceus), found in the South Pacific.

   Tiares, hibiscuses, frangipani and flowered buraos smile to those who return and are not the least bit surprised by their faithfulness.

   1978, Patrick O'Reilly, Painters in Tahiti, →ISBN, page 26

   2 more examples

   Overhead was a thatch of buraos, and over these again palms brandished their bright fans, as I have seen a conjurer make himself a halo out of naked swords.

   1896, Robert Louis Stevenson, In the South Seas

   There was a particular tree, the burao, used for fencing and the construction of indigenous huts, which had the ability to recover whatever the treatment it received.

   2002, Brian J. Bresnihan, Keith Woodward, Tufala Gavman, →ISBN, page 331