poinciana

P3O1I1N1C3I1A1N1A1

noun

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.

Similar
bird of paradiseCaesalpinia gilliesiiPoinciana gilliesii
UncommonScrabble 13

Meanings

nounpoinciana (plural poincianas)

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.

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

    1987, Hilary Thompson, Common Birds of the Darwin Area, Winnellie: Sandpiper Productions, page vii
  2. A tropical shrub, Caesalpinia pulcherrima, with bright orange-red flowers, originally native to the Americas and now widely cultivated as an ornamental.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna tropical flowering shrub having bright orange or red flowers; sometimes placed in genus Poinciana

Similar
bird of paradiseCaesalpinia gilliesiiPoinciana gilliesii
Broader
flowering shrub

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

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

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with poinciana

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

poinciana. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poinciana

MLA

“poinciana.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poinciana. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “poinciana,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poinciana.

Source: poinciana on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.