ELEPHANT'S EAR

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does elephant's ear mean? 

• ELEPHANT'S EAR (noun)
  The noun ELEPHANT'S EAR has 2 senses:

1. any plant of the genus Alocasia having large showy basal leaves and boat-shaped spathe and reddish berries

2. tropical South American tree having a wide-spreading crown of bipinnate leaves and coiled ear-shaped fruits; grown for shade and ornament as well as valuable timber

  Familiarity information: ELEPHANT'S EAR used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ELEPHANT'S EAR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any plant of the genus Alocasia having large showy basal leaves and boat-shaped spathe and reddish berries

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

alocasia; elephant's ear; elephant ear

Hypernyms ("elephant's ear" is a kind of...):

aroid; arum (any plant of the family Araceae; have small flowers massed on a spadix surrounded by a large spathe)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "elephant's ear"):

Alocasia macrorrhiza; giant taro (large evergreen with extremely large erect or spreading leaves; cultivated widely in tropics for its edible rhizome and shoots; used in wet warm regions as a stately ornamental)

Holonyms ("elephant's ear" is a member of...):

genus Alocasia (tropical Asiatic herbs similar to Colocasia but distinguished by a large sterile spadix)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Tropical South American tree having a wide-spreading crown of bipinnate leaves and coiled ear-shaped fruits; grown for shade and ornament as well as valuable timber

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

conacaste; elephant's ear; Enterolobium cyclocarpa

Hypernyms ("elephant's ear" is a kind of...):

tree (a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms)

Holonyms ("elephant's ear" is a member of...):

Enterolobium; genus Enterolobium (small genus of tropical American timber trees closely allied to genus Albizia)