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dieffenbachia definition

dief·fen·bach·ia (dēf′ən bak′ē ə)

noun

any of a genus (Dieffenbachia) of tropical plants of the arum family, with thick, fleshy jointed stems and large leaves, dark green and often splashed with white: grown as house plants, though poisonous

Etymology: ModL, after Ernst Dieffenbach (1811-55), 19th-c. Ger botanist + -ia, -ia

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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