noun
genus of shrubs and small trees of tropical America and Asia having cylindrical fruits spirally twisted around one another
• Syn: ↑genus Helicteres
• Hypernyms: ↑dilleniid dicot genus
• Member Holonyms: ↑Sterculiaceae, ↑family Sterculiaceae, ↑sterculia family
• Member Meronyms: ↑screw tree
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\\ˌhelə̇kˈtirēz, hə̇ˈliktəˌr-\ nounUsage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, from Greek heliktēres, plural of heliktēr anything twisted, from helik-, helixspiral — more at helenium
: a large genus of tropical trees and shrubs (family Sterculiaceae) with axillary flowers and fruits consisting of five twisted carpels — see screw tree
Useful english dictionary. 2012.