bignonia

[ big-noh-nee-uh ]

noun
  1. any chiefly tropical American climbing shrub of the genus Bignonia, cultivated for its showy, trumpet-shaped flowers.

  2. any member of the plant family Bignoniaceae, characterized by trees, shrubs, and woody vines having opposite leaves, showy, bisexual, tubular flowers, and often large, gourdlike or capsular fruit with flat, winged seeds, and including the bignonia, catalpa, princess tree, and trumpet creeper.

Origin of bignonia

1
1690–1700; <New Latin, named after Abbé Bignon (librarian of Louis XIV of France); see -ia

Words Nearby bignonia

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bignonia in a sentence

  • bignonia will give satisfaction south of Chicago, in most localities.

    Amateur Gardencraft | Eben E. Rexford
  • The lapacho, of the bignonia species, rises to a height of 100 feet, and its wood is used for cabinet work.

    Argentina | W. A. Hirst
  • One 265 of the most exquisite of all is the seed of bignonia.

    The Romance of Plant Life | G. F. Scott Elliot
  • bignonia capreolata, with its strongly apheliotropic tendrils (which I had from Kew), is now interesting me greatly.

  • Lovely gardens, full of purple bougainvillea, orange bignonia, and scarlet poinsettias.

    The Last Voyage | Lady (Annie Allnutt) Brassey

British Dictionary definitions for bignonia

bignonia

/ (bɪɡˈnəʊnɪə) /


noun
  1. any tropical American bignoniaceous climbing shrub of the genus Bignonia (or Doxantha), cultivated for their trumpet-shaped yellow or reddish flowers: See also cross vine

Origin of bignonia

1
C19: from New Latin, named after the Abbé Jean-Paul Bignon (1662–1743)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012