A colorful garden flower with funnel-shaped blooms that come in many bright colors like pink, purple, and red.
From French 'pétun,' a plant imported from Brazil, which may derive from Tupi (a South American language) 'petun' meaning 'tobacco plant.' The flower was named for its resemblance to tobacco plants when introduced to Europe in the 1600s.
Petunias are actually more closely related to tobacco and peppers than to most other flowers—they're nightshades! The name traveled from South America → Brazil's indigenous languages → French → English. Such a linguistic journey for a simple flower.
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