Word.ws English Dictionary

redbird cactus

redbird cactus noun: devil's backbone (Euphorbia tithymaloides).

redbird cactus: devil's backbone (Euphorbia tithymaloides)
Image: Tauʻolunga, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

redbird cactus (uncountable)

  1. devil's backbone (Euphorbia tithymaloides)
    • Jungle clung to the canyons, but there were broad expanses of brushland grown with mesquite and agave and flowering redbird cactus.1998, Robert Stone, Bear and His Daughter: Stories, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN, page 61
    • Some say the flowers of devil's backbone look like cardinals perched around a feeder, each flower a long-tailed red teardrop that gives rise to another common name, red bird cactus.2012 August 15, Nellie Neal, “Devil's Backbone (Euphorbia tithymaloides)”, in Gardener's Guide to Tropical Plants: Cool Ways to Add Hot Colors, Bold Foliage, and Striking Textures, Cool Springs...
    Synonyms:
    slipperflower, zigzag plant

Synonyms of redbird cactus

  • slipperflower
  • zigzag plant

Origin of redbird cactus

Named for the appearance of its flower clusters, resembling small birds gathered around a birdfeeder.

Questions about redbird cactus

What does redbird cactus mean?
Redbird cactus means devil's backbone (Euphorbia tithymaloides).
What part of speech is redbird cactus?
Redbird cactus is a noun.

Words near redbird cactus in the dictionary

  1. redberries
  2. redberry
  3. redbill
  4. redbills
  5. redbird
  6. redbird cactus
  7. redbirds
  8. Redblack
  9. Redblacks
  10. redbone
  11. redbones

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: redbird cactus (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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