Definition of "polyanthus"

polyanthus

noun
plural polyanthuses or polyanthi
1. A type of primula, apparently originally from a hybrid between the cowslip and the primrose, having many different-coloured flowers.
  Quotations
  [T]he Hens all want to sit, the Primroses Polyanthuses &c crowd the Hedges; & a Rose Tree or two are quite full of Leaves.
  1793 February 27, Hester Piozzi, Thraliana
  No cottage in Coughton boasted taller hollyhocks, nor finer Michaelmas daisies in the autumn than Dame Magdalen’s almshouses; and even now, at this early season, well cared-for stocks, and rich polyanthuses might excite the envy of more scientific but less successful gardeners.
  1842, [Katherine] Thomson, chapter X, in Widows and Widowers. A Romance of Real Life., volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], pages 227–228