kangaroo paw

English

Etymology

Named for the shape of the unopened flower (lower left in picture), which resembles the paws of a kangaroo.

Noun

kangaroo paw (plural kangaroo paws)

Kangaroo paw.
  1. Any of various perennial flowering plants of the family Haemodoraceae, endemic to the south-west of Western Australia.
    • 1984, Helen Garner, Yellow Notebook: Diaries 1978-1987, Text Publishing, published 2022, page 118:
      Spring flowers everywhere—freesias in throng, and startling growths of kangaroo paw with its dark red, vividly red stalks.

References
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