pedicle
/'pedisəl/ Cách viết khác : (pedicle) /'pedikl/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A small stalk that supports a single flower within a cluster of flowers (an inflorescence): In botany, a pedicle is the slender stem that connects an individual flower to the main stalk (the peduncle) or to a branch of the inflorescence.
Usage
- The term "pedicle" is a technical botanical term. It is used to describe the specific structure of a flower cluster. The main stalk of the entire flower cluster is the peduncle. The stalks branching off the peduncle are pedicels, and each pedicel bears a single flower.
Examples
- Noun:
- Each delicate flower in the raceme is attached by a thin pedicle.
- The botanist examined the length and hairiness of the pedicles to help identify the plant species.
Advanced Usage
- "Pedicel abscission": The natural process by which a flower or fruit separates from its pedicle.
- Pedicel abscission is a carefully regulated stage in plant development.
Variants and Related Words
- Pedicel (n): This is the most common and preferred spelling in modern botanical English, synonymous with "pedicle."
- Peduncle (n): The primary stalk supporting an entire inflorescence or a solitary flower.
- Pedicellate (adj): Describing a flower that has a pedicel.
- Pedicellate flowers hang freely.
Synonyms
- Flower stalk: A more general, non-technical term.
- Individual flower stem: A descriptive synonym.
Notes on Different Meanings
- In anatomy and zoology, "pedicle" has a completely different meaning, referring to a slender stalk-like structure in an organism (e.g., the pedicle of a vertebra or the stalk attaching a brachiopod to a substrate). This explanation focuses solely on the botanical definition.
Noun
- a small stalk bearing a single flower of an inflorescence; an ultimate division of a common peduncle