catkin
a spike of unisexual, apetalous flowers having scaly, usually deciduous bracts, as of a willow or birch.
Origin of catkin
1- Also called ament.
Other words from catkin
- cat·kin·ate [kat-kuh-neyt], /ˈkæt kəˌneɪt/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use catkin in a sentence
Drifting across the pond as gently as the gray half-light fell a shower of lint from the willow catkins.
Roof and Meadow | Dallas Lore SharpTheir nests are made of twigs, roots, or strips of fiber from vines and lined with the down from catkins and horsehair.
Western Bird Guide | Chester A. (Chester Albert) Reed, Harry F. Harvey, and Rex I. BrasherThe male flowers grow in catkins, each arising from a scaly bract, and have a green perianth.
The Sea Shore | William S. FurneauxOn these almost universal, but on nothing else, except on the fallen catkins of the same species.
The North American Slime-Moulds | Thomas H. (Thomas Huston) MacBrideThe moth is out in March and April, and may be found on the sallow catkins.
The Moths of the British Isles, First Series | Richard South
British Dictionary definitions for catkin
/ (ˈkætkɪn) /
an inflorescence consisting of a spike, usually hanging, of much reduced flowers of either sex: occurs in birch, hazel, etc: Also called: ament
Origin of catkin
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for catkin
[ kăt′kĭn ]
A long, thin, indeterminate inflorescence of tiny, petalless flowers growing on willows, birches, oaks, poplars, and certain other trees. The flowers on a catkin are either all male or all female. The female flowers are usually pollinated by the wind. Also called ament See illustration at inflorescence.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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