Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Having a tuft or tufts of hair: Specifically used in botany to describe certain seeds, like cotton, that possess a cluster of hair-like fibers.
   • Bearing a coma; crowned with an assemblage of branches, leaves, or bracts: Describes plants or plant parts, such as the crown of a pineapple or a palm, that have a tufted or crown-like cluster of structures at their apex.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The comose seeds of the dandelion are easily dispersed by the wind.
  • Botanists noted the comose appearance at the tip of the fruit.
  • The comate royal palm is distinguished by its crown of leaves.

Advanced Usage

• Technical/Botanical Context: The term is almost exclusively used in scientific descriptions of plant morphology.
  • Under the microscope, the comose nature of the seed coat was clearly visible.

Variants and Related Words

• Comate (adj): A variant spelling and synonym for "comose," meaning tufted or having a coma.
  • The comate seeds were collected for study.
• Coma (n): In botany, a tuft of hairs, especially on seeds, or a terminal cluster of leaves or bracts.
  • The seed's coma aids in wind dispersal.

Synonyms

• Tufted: Having or growing in a tuft or tufts.
• Crowned: Having a crown or top formation (in the specific botanical sense).
• Hairy: Covered with hair (though this is a more general term).

Antonyms

• Glabrous: Smooth; having no hair or similar projections.
• Bald: Lacking a natural or usual covering (e.g., a seed without a tuft).

Adjective

1. of certain seeds (such as cotton) having a tuft or tufts of hair
   • comate (or comose) seeds
   • a comal tuft
2. bearing a coma; crowned with an assemblage of branches or leaves or bracts
   • comate royal palms
   • pineapples are comate