pittosporum

noun

pit·​tos·​po·​rum pə-ˈtä-spə-rəm How to pronounce pittosporum (audio)
: any of various Old World shrubs or trees (genus Pittosporum of the family Pittosporaceae) planted especially as ornamentals in warm regions

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web The wreath includes white roses, spray white roses, white dahlias as well as foliage including pine from the gardens of Balmoral and pittosporum, lavender and rosemary from the gardens at Windsor. Simon Perry, Peoplemag, 16 Sep. 2022 Crawford’s wife, Jenny, of Branch Out Landscape Design, also in Carlsbad, added drought-tolerant plants to complement the house and deck, including red bougainvillea, plumeria, lomandra, asparagus foxtail ferns, agaves and pittosporum crassifolium. Nicole Sours Larson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Apr. 2022 Wood-and-glass doors from the ’50s open onto the long roof, which is planted with small cherry trees, clematis and flowering shrubs including nandina and pittosporum. New York Times, 22 Sep. 2021 For a recap of the freeze damage, Texas lost large numbers of pittosporum, loropetalum, ligustrum, loquat, Chinese tallow and Arizona ash. Howard Garrett, Dallas News, 21 June 2021 That’s the Victorian box tree, pittosporum, popularized a hundred years ago. Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2021 Most major trees around North Texas made it through the cold snap fairly well (with some exceptions), but many shrubs are toast — Indian hawthorn, pittosporum, Japanese and wax ligustrum, Chinese fringe flower and agaves are pretty much wiped out. Howard Garrett, Dallas News, 29 Mar. 2021 Badly burned plants like pittosporum, nandina, loropetalum, and both Japanese and wax ligustrum can be stripped of dead leaves or tip-pruned in order to look better. Howard Garrett, Dallas News, 1 Mar. 2021 Some plants such as Mexican olive, viburnum, pittosporum and Mexican honeysuckle that are normally evergreen and usually tolerant of cold weather have defoliated in the freeze. Calvin Finch, San Antonio Express-News, 26 Feb. 2021 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pittosporum.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek pitta, pissa pitch + spora seed — more at pitch, spore

First Known Use

1789, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pittosporum was in 1789

Dictionary Entries Near pittosporum

Cite this Entry

“Pittosporum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pittosporum. Accessed 20 Mar. 2023.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!


What Did You Just Call Me?

  • brown chihuahua sitting on the floor with squinting eyes looking at the camera
  • Before we went to her house, Hannah told us her aunt was a flibbertigibbet.
True or False

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can with using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.

Can you make 12 words with 7 letters?

PLAY