-ˈspərməm noun
Usage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, from cochlo- (from Greek kochlos, a kind of shellfish with a spiral shell) + -spermum; from the coiled embryo — more at cochlea
: a genus (typifying the family Cochlospermaceae of the order Parietales) of trees native to tropical America and Africa and having palmate leaves and seeds covered with a silky down — see sterculia gum