protea
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pro·te·a
(prō′tē-ə)n.
Any of numerous trees or shrubs of the family Proteaceae, especially a shrub of the southern African genus Protea having large conelike flower heads with showy bracts.
[New Latin Prōtea, genus name, from Latin Prōteus, the shape-shifting god Proteus (in reference to the great variation in floral shape and color shown by species of the genus ); see Proteus.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
protea
(ˈprəʊtɪə)n
(Plants) any shrub or small tree of the genus Protea, of tropical and southern Africa, having flowers with coloured bracts arranged in showy heads: family Proteaceae
[C20: from New Latin, from Proteus, referring to the large number of different forms of the plant]
proteaceous adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
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| Noun | 1. | protea - any tropical African shrub of the genus Protea having alternate rigid leaves and dense colorful flower heads resembling cones genus Protea - type genus of Proteaceae; tropical African shrubs honeypot, king protea, Protea cynaroides - South African shrub whose flowers when open are cup-shaped resembling artichokes |
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