(n)showy tropical tree or shrub native to Madagascar; widely planted in tropical regions for its immense racemes of scarlet and orange flowers; sometimes placed in genus Poinciana, Syn.flame tree, peacock flower, flamboyant, Delonix regia, Poinciana regia
‖n. [ NL. Named after M. de Poinci, a governor of the French West Indies. ] (Bot.) A prickly tropical shrub (Cæsalpinia, formerly Poinciana, pulcherrima), with bipinnate leaves, and racemes of showy orange-red flowers with long crimson filaments. [ 1913 Webster ]
☞ The genus Poinciana is kept up for three trees of Eastern Africa, the Mascarene Islands, and India. [ 1913 Webster ]