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Glite Dictionary
Caesalpinia gilliesii

Caesalpinia gilliesii

9.9
A tropical shrub with bright orange or red flowers like the bird of paradise bush
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : caesalpinia gilliesii
  • The striking flowers of Caesalpinia gilliesii attract many butterflies and hummingbirds.

Examples

  • The Caesalpinia gilliesii in our garden blooms beautifully every summer.

  • The Caesalpinia gilliesii produces vibrant orange flowers that brighten up the landscape.

  • Botanists often refer to Caesalpinia gilliesii as the bird of paradise bush.

  • The garden featured a stunning Caesalpinia gilliesii in full bloom.

  • Have you seen the Caesalpinia gilliesii at the botanical garden?

  • In the spring, our Caesalpinia gilliesii bursts into color, attracting numerous pollinators.

  • Known for its beauty, the Caesalpinia gilliesii is often planted in tropical gardens.

Synonyms

Poinciana gilliesii
vsCaesalpinia gilliesii
  • Specialized
9.9

A tropical tree with bright orange-red flowers and feathery leaves

is the other name that also highlights garden or ornamental use
poinciana
vsCaesalpinia gilliesii
  • US
9.9

A tropical tree with bright orange or red flowers

is narrower used for the shrub form often grown for decoration

Surface Forms

Caesalpinia gilliesii singular
Caesalpinia gilliesiis plural
Caesalpinia gilliesiis singular

Morphology

Caesalpinia + gilliesii

The genus name 'Caesalpinia' conveys useful lexical information (a tropical tree/shrub with showy flowers), so part of the compound is transparent. However 'gilliesii' is a species epithet (a proper-name label with no dictionary meaning) and does not add predictable descriptive content, making the full name only partially compositional and not fully derivable by a learner.

Etymology

Caesalpinia gilliesii is a scientific name that honours two people: the genus Caesalpinia is named after Andrea Cesalpino, an early plant scientist, and the species name gilliesii honours John Gillies, who found the shrub in South America. So the name tells us who found or studied this bright orange 'bird of paradise' bush rather than describing its flowers.