tropical

Etymology

From tropic + -al.

adj

1. Of or pertaining to the tropics, the equatorial region between 23 degrees north and 23 degrees south.
2. From, or similar to, a hot, humid climate.
   tropical fruit tropical weather
   Whale sharks are found in all the tropical waters of the world. As with many tropical species, an occasional stray wanders into colder waters. 1983, Richard Ellis, The Book of Sharks, Knopf, page 103
3. (dated) Pertaining to, involving, or of the nature of a trope or tropes; figurative, metaphorical.
4. (mathematics) Pertaining to tropical geometry.

noun

1. A tropical plant.
   The potato, as a mountain tropical plant, is capable of growing in cooler weather than any other tropical except the Nasturtian. 1856, “The Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), volume 12, page 275