Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of several plants of the genus Dieffenbachia native to tropical America, having stout, jointed stems and large, variegated leaves and widely cultivated as an indoor plant.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Any of several plants, of the genus Dieffenbachia, cultivated as houseplants

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[New Latin, genus name, after Ernst Dieffenbach, (1811–1855), German naturalist.]

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Examples

  • Working on the assumption that all living things require water, but apparently forgetting that they also need air, she began flooding the dieffenbachia on a daily basis.

    Excerpt: Marley & Me by John Grogan 2005

  • I had surprised her with it one night, a lovely large dieffenbachia with emerald-and-cream variegated leaves.

    Excerpt: Marley & Me by John Grogan 2005

  • Then they came to the taller plants: four-foot-tall ficus trees, false aralias, and dieffenbachia.

    The Owl and Moon Cafe Jo-Ann Mapson 2006

  • Then they came to the taller plants: four-foot-tall ficus trees, false aralias, and dieffenbachia.

    The Owl and Moon Cafe Jo-Ann Mapson 2006

  • They sat in green stuffed chairs in a room with a big dieffenbachia in a corner and a lush Swedish ivy in a brown jute macramé hanger at the window.

    Mercy Falls William Kent Krueger 2005

  • They sat in green stuffed chairs in a room with a big dieffenbachia in a corner and a lush Swedish ivy in a brown jute macramé hanger at the window.

    Mercy Falls William Kent Krueger 2005

  • And I'm talking dieffenbachia, draecaena, cactus and sanseveria.

    1999-12-12 01:05:36 nueces 1999

  • Another popular plant is the dieffenbachia, or mother-in-law plant, which has large, oblong leaves painted with light white splotches.

    250 Things You Can Do to Make Your Cat Adore You INGRID NEWKIRK 1998

  • Sap from the dieffenbachia can cause eye problems, such as inflammation.

    250 Things You Can Do to Make Your Cat Adore You INGRID NEWKIRK 1998

  • Another popular plant is the dieffenbachia, or mother-in-law plant, which has large, oblong leaves painted with light white splotches.

    250 Things You Can Do to Make Your Cat Adore You INGRID NEWKIRK 1998

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