Pronunciation: st ə - ' p ē l-y ə
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin, from J. B. van Stapel † 1636 Dutch botanist
Date: 1776
: any of a genus ( Stapelia ) of chiefly African perennial herbs of the milkweed family with succulent typically leafless toothed stems and showy but usually putrid-smelling star-shaped flowers