aroid

noun

ar·​oid ˈa-ˌrȯid 

ˈer-ˌȯid

plural aroids

: any of a large family (Araceae) of terrestrial, aquatic, or epiphytic flowering plants chiefly of tropical regions that have tiny flowers clustered on a spadix partly enclosed by a spathe and that include some (such as calla lilies and monsteras) grown as houseplants and others (such as taros and konjacs) grown for food : a plant of the arum family

The aroids are remarkably diverse: although the family includes such familiar plants as philodendrons and anthuriums, it also includes some of the most bizarre members of the plant kingdom: the Titan arum of Sumatra was surely the most sensational discovery of the Victorian age of plant hunting.

—Deni Brown

aroid adjective

Each type of aroid plant grows with different needs and characteristics so it is important to do some research before purchasing.

—Debbie Hughes

Examples of aroid in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The aroid room brims with big houseplants, some reaching up to the ceiling, while the Sugar Room is stocked with coffee, cacao and fruit plants. —Lori Rackl, chicagotribune.com, 17 Oct. 2019

Another aroid species that has become a bona fide object of obsession for this new generation of collectors is the eminently photogenic variegated monstera, whose leaves are marbled with painterly splashes of white. —Gray Chapman, New York Times, 13 Nov. 2019

Word History

Etymology

arum + -oid entry 2, after New Latin Aroideae, family or subfamily name

First Known Use

1811, in the meaning defined above