Definition

1. Adjective:
   • (Botany, of a leaf or other plant part) Having a short, sharply pointed tip: Describes a shape that tapers abruptly to a small, distinct point at the apex.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The leaf is distinctly apiculate, ending in a fine, needle-like tip.
  • Botanists noted the apiculate bracts surrounding the flower bud.

Advanced Usage

• Technical Description: The term is primarily used in formal botanical descriptions and scientific writing to precisely characterize morphology.
  • The species is keyed out by its apiculate leaf margins and glabrous stem.

Variants and Related Words

• Apiculus (noun): The short, sharp point itself.
  • The apiculus at the leaf's end is a key identifying feature.

Synonyms

• Mucronate: Ending abruptly in a short, stiff point (a closely related botanical term, though sometimes implying a spine-like extension of the midrib).
• Pointed: Having a sharp end (a general, non-technical synonym).

Antonyms

• Obtuse: Having a blunt or rounded tip.
• Rounded: Having a smooth, curved contour at the end.

Adjective

1. (of a leaf shape) having a short sharply pointed tip