[mod.L., f. Sterculius the god of manuring, f. stercus dung.]
1. Bot. A genus of polypetalous plants (typical of the N.O. Sterculiaceæ); a plant of this genus.
Most of the species are trees, and all contain mucilaginous gum; some have a fetid odor, whence the name.
1771. Encycl. Brit., III. 627. Sterculia.
1857. Livingstone, Trav. S. Africa, xxvi. 534. A kind of sterculia, which is the most common tree at Loanda.
1866. Treas. Bot., 1098/1. All the Sterculias contain mucilage.
2. Ent. A beetle of the family Xantholinidæ.
1874. J. G. Wood, Insects Abr., vi. 77. The Sterculias are readily known by their very peculiar shape.
Hence Sterculiaceous a. Bot. pertaining to the Sterculiaceæ; Sterculiad, a sterculiaceous plant.
1846. Lindley, Veg. Kingd., 36. Sterculiads … are chiefly remarkable for the abundance of mucilage they contain.
1866. Treas. Bot., s.v. Bombax, A genus of large soft-wooded trees belonging to the order of Sterculiads.
1885. Athenæum, 26 Dec., 846/2. This sterculaceous [sic] tree is a native of the tropics.
1898. Syd. Soc. Lex., Sterculiaceous.
