Anthuriums

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Tropical plants with large, glossy heart-shaped flowers and spadix-like inflorescences, commonly grown as ornamental houseplants
2. Flowering plants native to Central and South America, known for their showy waxy spathes and prominent spadices that bloom year-round
3. Evergreen perennials with striking decorative flowers featuring a colored spathe and protruding spadix, popular in floral arrangements and indoor gardens

Etymology: Anthuriums are the plural of "anthurium", a word that began as a scientific name for a plant genus rather than as a word anyone spoke. The genus was named by the Austrian botanist Heinrich Wilhelm Schott, and the name was built from Greek roots: "anthos", meaning flower, and "oura", meaning tail. The name describes the plant's most distinctive feature, the spadix, a slender tail-like spike of tiny flowers that rises from the centre of its showy, heart-shaped bract. The plural form follows the ordinary English pattern for a noun ending in a consonant plus "-um" of this kind, so "anthuriums" simply means more than one plant of the genus. Taken from a botanical name, the word still carries its scientific origin, which is why it is often capitalised in formal writing as the genus name and left lowercase when used for the plant in general conversation.

Synonyms: flamingo flowers