Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun 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.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A genus of apetalous shrubs, the type of the order Proteaceæ and tribe Proteeæ.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Any of many
South African flowering plants , of the genusProtea , having colourful cone-shaped flower heads.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun any tropical African shrub of the genus Protea having alternate rigid leaves and dense colorful flower heads resembling cones
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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She's drawn it herself: a protea for South Africa, a cornflower for her native Germany, a moon orchid for Indonesia and a fern for New Zealand.
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Rock Happy The clusters of torch ginger, the heliconia and protea, and all the other flowers were gone from the lobby.
Beard 2010
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I don't want a loan, said protea grower Dan Wegner, who has 11 acres of the exotic flowers in Ocean View near the south end of the Big Island.
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I bring her protea flowers, and her amakua, the sea turtle, sometimes devours them when I sit on the rocks and speak with her.
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I don't want a loan, said protea grower Dan Wegner, who has 11 acres of the exotic flowers in Ocean View near the south end of the Big Island.
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The king protea (Protea cynaroides) is the national flower of South Africa.
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Last month it was revealed that the King protea would in future be worn on the left hand side of the national rugby team's playing jersey though the Springbok emblem could still be used.
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Among the best-recognized plant species in the hotspot are the proteas, particularly the king protea (Protea cynaroides), which is South Africa's national flower, and the red disa (Disa uniflora).
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A golden-hued vase, above left, brimming with red-orange pincushion protea, plays up the yellow edging on a lacquered accent table.
Thom Filicia Style Thom Filicia 2008
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This shield of peace, that also suggests an African drum, thus, simultaneously, conveys the message of a people imbued with love for culture, its upper part as a shield being imaginatively represented by the protea.
ANC Today 2007
dontcry commented on the word protea
Looks like an artichoke.
February 22, 2009