Grevilleas

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Several flowering shrubs or trees of the Australian genus known for spidery, brightly colored blossoms that attract birds
2. Australian evergreen plants with distinctive spiky or feathery flowers, often grown in gardens for their nectar-rich blooms
3. Native Australian shrubs and trees belonging to a large group whose unusual flowers are popular with honeyeaters and gardeners alike

Etymology: Grevilleas are the plural of "grevillea", the name of a large genus of flowering shrubs and trees, mostly native to Australia, and the word is borrowed directly from the Latin-style scientific name "Grevillea" used in botany. The genus itself was named in honour of a person, Charles Francis Greville, a British patron of botany and an early member of the Royal Society's circle of plant collectors, whose name the botanist who first described the group chose to commemorate. The plant name therefore carries a man's surname, and the English word is simply that Latinised form. Because "grevillea" is a scientific coinage, it follows the usual pattern of botanical names: a proper name turned into a Latin-sounding genus name and then used unchanged in English. The plural "grevilleas" is the ordinary English form, used when speaking of more than one plant of the genus.