rosella

plural rosellas

1. A parrot belonging to any of the five to eight species in the genus Platycercus (originally specifically Platycercus eximius) which is native to Australia and nearby islands.First known use 19th c.

   Molly […] had glimpsed a future, like a rosella, hardly seen, swooping through the high umbrellas of the bush.

   1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber and Faber, published 2003, page 138

   Synonyms: rosehill, rosehiller

plural rosellas

1. alternativecountableuncountableAlternative form of roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa)

   [T]he rosella bush was coming in; the cricket-ball nuts on the baobabs were ripening.

   1937, Ion L. Idriess, Over the Range, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, published 1947, page 57

   1 more example

   Rosellas, a fruit, I imagine, not very well known, we grew most successfully, its delicious sub-acid making the most splendid substitute for the English red currant; and we varied its uses by transforming the raw material into jam and jelly, and freshly-stewed fruit.

   1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 122