A genus of tropical plants, commonly called lipstick plants, with bright red tubular flowers that resemble lipstick tubes.
From Greek aischyn- (shame, modesty) + anthos (flower), literally 'shameful flower.' The name may refer to the flower's showy, almost immodest appearance, or possibly a historical misremembering of plant characteristics.
Lipstick plants evolved their lipstick-shaped flowers to attract birds—the scarlet tubes perfectly match bird beaks, and the flowers produce sugary nectar at exactly the right height for feeding hummingbirds and lorikeets in their native rainforests.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.