flame tree

English

Etymology

flame + tree, from the fiery colour of the flowers.

Pronunciation

• enPR: flām trē
• IPA^(key): /fleɪm tɹiː/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

a flame tree (Delonix regia) in full bloom.

flame tree (plural flame trees)

1. Any tree or shrub with yellow or bright red flowers from several species including:

   The people stared in awe at the magnificently colored flame tree.

   1. Rhododendron arboreum (tree rhododendron), of southern Asia
   2. Brachychiton acerifolius (syn. Sterculia acerifolia, Australian flame tree, Illawarra flame tree, lacebark tree)
      • 1919, Charles Francis Saunders, With the Flowers and Trees in California, R.M. McBride & Co., section 47:

        […] its scarlet-flowered cousin the maple leaved Sterculia, or Australian flame-tree, which we grow in California for ornament, too, is a tough waterproof fiber a couple of inches thick, that is good material for cordage and mats.

   3. Delonix regia (royal poinciana), native to Madagascar
   4. Alloxylon flammeum (Queensland tree waratah, red silky oak)
   5. Butea monosperma (flame of the forest), of southern Asia
   6. Embothrium coccineum (Chilean flame tree, Chilean firebush)
   7. Erythrina abyssinica, of eastern and southern Africa
   8. Erythrina spp. (coral trees), of most tropical and subtropical regions
   9. Koelreuteria bipinnata (Chinese flame tree)
   10. Nuytsia floribunda (Australian Christmas tree)
   11. Peltophorum spp. (African flame tree)
   12. Spathodea campanulata (African tulip tree, African flame tree)

Hypernyms

• tree

References

• “flame tree”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “flame tree”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• flame tree on Wikipedia.Wikipedia