streptocarpus

[strep-tuh-kahr-puh s]

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.

Origin of streptocarpus

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

Also called Cape primrose.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for streptocarpus

Historical Examples of streptocarpus

The pedicels of Streptocarpus Rexii have also been observed in a fasciated state.
Vegetable Teratology
Maxwell T. Masters
In species of Streptocarpus the cotyledons are permanent, and act the part of leaves.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 3
Various
Streptocarpus Wendlandii is a singularly interesting variety.
The Culture of Vegetables and Flowers From Seeds and Roots, 16th Edition
Sutton and Sons

British Dictionary definitions for streptocarpus

streptocarpus

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)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012