Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Petunia

Petunia (pe*tū"ni*ȧ) , noun

[New Latin, from Braz. petun tobacco.]

(Botany) A genus of solanaceous herbs with funnel-form or salver-shaped corollas. Two species are common in cultivation, Petunia violacea, with reddish purple flowers, and Petunia nyctaginiflora, with white flowers. There are also many hybrid forms with variegated corollas.