What does aroid mean?
An aroid is any member of the Araceae, one of the most distinctive families of flowering plants. Aroids are found worldwide but reach their greatest diversity in the tropics, where they include familiar houseplants such as philodendron, monstera, and peace lily, as well as important food crops like taro. What unites them is an unusual flower structure: hundreds of minute blossoms crowded onto a thick, fleshy spike called a spadix, frequently framed by a large, often colorful modified leaf known as a spathe — the structure most people mistake for the flower itself in plants like the calla lily. The word derives from 'aron', the ancient Greek name for the arum. In horticulture, 'aroids' is the standard collective term for this group, prized for bold foliage and architectural form.
nounA plant of the family Araceae, a large group of mostly tropical flowering plants that includes the arum lily, philodendron, and taro; also called an arum.
- Any plant of the family Araceae, comprising tropical and temperate flowering plants characterized by tiny flowers densely packed on a fleshy spike (spadix), often subtended by a showy bract (spathe).
"The conservatory's collection of aroids includes towering philodendrons and the striking white calla lily."
"Botanists at Kew have assembled one of the finest collections of aroids in Europe."
"Taro, a staple food crop across the Pacific, is among the most economically important of the aroids."
Standard plural; commonly used to refer to members of the family collectively, especially in horticultural contexts.
"Many aroids thrive in the humid understory of tropical rainforests."
The humble aroid family gave the world both the elegant calla lily on your table and one of the largest flowers on Earth — all from the same botanical lineage.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of aroid
The word 'aroid' comes from the ancient Greek 'aron', the classical name for the arum plant, combined with the suffix '-oid' meaning 'resembling'. It entered scientific English in the nineteenth century as botanists formalized the classification of the arum family, Araceae. The same Greek root survives directly in 'arum', the common English name for plants of the genus Arum, such as lords-and-ladies.
How aroid is actually used
Primarily used in botany and horticulture; in everyday speech people more often name specific aroids (philodendron, monstera, peace lily) than use the collective term. The adjective 'araceous' or the phrase 'arum family' are common alternatives.
Easily confused with aroid
'Arid' describes extremely dry land or climate, while 'aroid' refers to a member of the arum family of plants.
'Avoid' is a verb meaning to keep away from something, whereas 'aroid' is a noun naming a type of flowering plant.