procumbent

American  

[proh-kuhm-buhnt] / proʊˈkʌm bənt /

adjective

1. lying on the face; prone; prostrate.

2. Botany. (of a plant or stem) lying along the ground, but not putting forth roots.

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procumbent British  

/ prəʊˈkʌmbənt /

adjective

1. Also: prostrate.  (of stems) growing along the ground

2. leaning forwards or lying on the face

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Etymology

Origin of procumbent

1660–70; < Latin prōcumbent- (stem of prōcumbēns ) bending forward, present participle of prōcumbere. See pro- ¹, incumbent

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

procumbent

A procumbent, prostrate or sometimes creeping shrub; scale-like leaves acute; berry on short recurved peduncles, 3–5´´ in diameter.—Rocky banks, borders of swamps, etc.,

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Asa Gray

Capsule membranaceous, circumscissile, the top falling off like a lid, many-seeded.—Low, spreading or procumbent herbs, mostly annuals, with opposite or whorled entire leaves, and solitary flowers on axillary peduncles.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Asa Gray

Its branches are usually procumbent, about a foot in length, and require, if the plant be kept in a pot, to be tied up to a stick.

From The Botanical Magazine Vol. 7 or, Flower-Garden Displayed by William Curtis

Its stems are 12in. or less in length, slender and procumbent.

From Hardy Perennials and Old Fashioned Flowers Describing the Most Desirable Plants, for Borders, Rockeries, and Shrubberies. by John Wood

Of these characters length of internode was carried by the Bush, and the procumbent habit by the original Cupid parent.

From Mendelism Third Edition by Reginald Crundall Punnett