[stuh-pee-lee-uh] 
| any of various plants of the genus Stapelia, of the milkweed family, native to southern Africa, having short, fleshy, leafless stems, and flowers that are oddly colored or mottled and in most species emit a fetid, carrionlike odor. |
| sta·pe·li·a (stə-pē'lē-ə) n. Any of various plants of the genus Stapelia, including the starfish flower. [New Latin Stapelia, genus name, after Jan Bode van Stapel (died 1636), Dutch botanist.] |
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