Sta-pē'li-ă, n.

n. [Named by Linnæus, from John Bodæus a Stapel, a physician of Amsterdam.] (Bot.) An extensive and curious genus of African plants, of the natural order Asclepiadaceæ (milk-weed family). They are succulent plants without leaves, frequently covered over with dark tubercles giving them a very grotesque appearance. The odor of the blossoms is like that of rotten flesh. Loudon.