redbird cactus en · NOUN
Etymology
Named for the appearance of its flower clusters, resembling small birds gathered around a birdfeeder.
Meanings
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(uncountable) devil's backbone (Euphorbia 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:Jungle clung to the canyons, but there were broad expanses of brushland grown with mesquite and agave and flowering redbird cactus.
1998, Robert Stone, Bear and His Daughter: Stories, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN, page 61:
Hypernyms
angiosperm · rosid · euphorbia · eudicot · tracheophyte · malvid · plant · fabid · spurge