devil's backbone en · NOUN
Meanings
-
(uncountable) A perennial succulent spurge, native to tropical and subtropical North and Central America, of species Euphorbia tithymaloides (formerly known as Pedilanthus tithymaloides).
Some say the flowers of devil's backbone look like cardinals perched around a feeder, each flower a long-tailed red teardrop that gives rise to another common name, red bird cactus.
2012 August 15, Nellie Neal, “Devil's Backbone (Euphorbia tithymaloides)”, in Gardener's Guide to Tropical Plants: Cool Ways to Add Hot Colors, Bold Foliage, and Striking Textures, Cool Springs Press, →ISBN, page 105:For years the matriarchs of the family grew a plant they called "devil's back," short for "devil's backbone." It's considered a subtropical succulent with variegated leaves.
2017 April 4, Betsy Singleton Snyder, Stepping on Cheerios: Finding God in the Chaos and Clutter of Life, Abingdon Press, →ISBN:Among the ornamentals that are commonly seen in but not native to Indonesia are a pink-flowered Dombeya, some Bauhinias or orchid trees, […] and trumpet vine. To this list may also be added yellow Allamanda, some kinds of Hibiscus, an Aloe, crown of thorns, shrimp plant, "Singapore holly" (neither a holly nor from Singapore), devil's backbone or slipperflower, Plumbago, Cape-honey-suckle, […]
1973, Wilfred T. Neill, Twentieth-century Indonesia, Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page 74:
Hypernyms
angiosperm · rosid · euphorbia · eudicot · tracheophyte · malvid · plant · fabid · spurge
Synonyms
redbird cactus · slipperflower · zigzag plant
Translations (1)
es ítamo real (Euphorbia tithymaloides)