proteadn.
/ˈprəʊtɪad/, /ˈprəʊtɪəd/, U.S. /ˈproʊdiəd/, /ˈproʊdiˌæd/ Botany. rare.
A plant of the family Proteaceae; a proteaceous plant.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Proteaceae family or plant > [noun]
protead1846
firebush1858
1846 J. Lindley Veg. Kingdom 532 A happier name than that of Proteads could not have been devised, for the diversity of appearance presented by the various genera is such as it would be hard to parallel in the same Natural Order.
1882 Garden 10 June 398/1 Hakea cucullata and various other Proteads..cultivated in the temperate house.
1932 Jrnl. Ecol. 20 (Suppl. No. IX) 151 The great majority of Proteads..need to live in areas with a least 30 in. annual rainfall.
1978 Jrnl. Biogeogr. 5 366/2 Whether in fact the earliest proteads were rain forest trees..or shrubs..or temperate species..is still a matter of debate.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1846