brunfelsia

[broon-fel-zee-uh]

noun

1. any of various shrubs or small trees belonging to the genus Brunfelsia, of the nightshade family, native to tropical America, having white or purple tubular or bell-shaped flowers.

Word History and Origins

Origin of brunfelsia¹

< New Latin (Linnaeus), named in honor of Otto Brunfels (circa 1488–1534), German humanist scholar and pioneer botanist; -ia

Example Sentences

The plant—now dubbed Brunfelsia plowmaniana—had puzzled botanists for decades as they endeavored to determine whether or not it was truly an evolutionary newcomer.

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The particular species Nee presented to Plowman was labeled Brunfelsia uniflora—however, Nee and Plowman questioned the identification.

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Convinced of a difference but unable to pinpoint it, Plowman continued to study and revise his writings on the brunfelsia genus until his death in 1989, yet he never solved the riddle.

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A member of the nightshade family, Brunfelsia are known for their occasionally toxic and hallucinogenic properties, as well as their bright, color-changing flowers.

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Filipowicz and botanist Susanne Renner, director of the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich Herbarium and Munich Botanical Garden, turned to Nee for a new physical description of the plant, and the trio published their description of Brunfelsia plowmaniana, named in honor of Timothy Plowman.

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