streptocarpus

[ strep-tuh-kahr-puh s ]
/ ˌstrɛp təˈkɑr pəs /

noun

any of various plants belonging to the genus Streptocarpus, of the gesneria family, native to Africa and Asia, having showy white, pink, or purplish flowers and often cultivated as a houseplant.
Also called Cape primrose.

Origin of streptocarpus

< New Latin (1828); see strepto-, -carpous; so named in reference to the tight spirals formed by the ruptured seed capsules

Words nearby streptocarpus

strepsipterous, strepsirrhine, strepticemia, strepto-, streptobacillus, streptocarpus, streptocerciasis, streptococcemia, streptococcus, streptococcus erythrogenic toxin, streptococcus mutans

Example sentences from the Web for streptocarpus

British Dictionary definitions for streptocarpus

streptocarpus
/ (ˌstrɛptəˈkɑːpəs) /

noun

any plant of the typically stemless subtropical perennial genus Streptocarpus, some species of which are grown as greenhouse plants for their tubular flowers in a range of bright colours: family Gesneriaceae

Word Origin for streptocarpus

New Latin, from Greek streptos twisted + karpos fruit (from the shape of the capsule)