a dietary fibre used as a food stabilizer and denture adhesive. It is the dried gum tapped from the trunk and stems of the tree Sterculia urens, native to Central India and Pakistan
sterculia in American English
(stɜrˈkjuliə)
adjective
designating a family (Sterculiaceae) of tropical, dicotyledonous plants (order Malvales), mostly shrubs and trees, including the cacao and cola
Word origin
< L Sterculius, the deity presiding over manuring < stercus: see stercoraceous