| 释义 |
coral-tree
†1. A name formerly given to the red or other branched coral, when it was believed to be of vegetable nature. Obs.
1635Davenant Madagascar Wks. (1673) 212 They strive To root up Corall-Trees. 1670–98R. Lassels Voy. Italy Pref. 6 Indeed the Coral-tree is neither hard nor red, till taken out of the sea.
2. The popular name of the trees of the genus Erythrina, which are distributed throughout the tropical regions of both hemispheres.
1756P. Browne Jamaica 288 The Coral or Red Bean Tree. 1775Masson in Phil. Trans. LXVI. 296 We found here..the coral tree, Erethrina corallodendron. 1859Tennent Ceylon I. i. iii. 92 One of the most magnificent of the flowering trees, is the Coral tree..It derives its English name from the resemblance which its scarlet flowers present to red coral. 1885A. Brassey The Trades 323 The coral tree—the flower of which exactly resembles a spray of real coral. |