desert rose

noun

• 1a flowerlike aggregate of crystals of a mineral occurring in arid areas.

• 2a succulent plant with pink, tubular flowers and a swollen, woody stem containing toxic, milky sap that is sometimes used for arrow poison. It is native to East Africa and Arabia.

  • Adenium obesum, family Apocynaceae

• 3 (also Sturt's desert rose) a dense shrub with pinkish-lilac flowers and black spotted leaves and fruit. Native to arid regions of Australia, it is the floral emblem of the Northern Territory of Australia.

  • Gossypium sturtianum, family Malvaceae