cupule

[kyoo-pyool]

noun

1. Botany.

   1. a cup-shaped whorl of hardened, cohering bracts, as in the acorn.

   2. a cup-shaped outgrowth of the thallus of certain liverworts.

   3. the apothecium of a cup fungus.

2. Zoology.,  a small cup-shaped sucker or similar organ or part.

cupule

/ ˈkjuːpjuːl /

noun

1. biology a cup-shaped part or structure, such as the cup around the base of an acorn

Word History and Origins

Origin of cupule¹

1820–30; < New Latin cūpula, Late Latin: small tub; cupola

Word History and Origins

Origin of cupule¹

C19: from Late Latin cūpula; see _cupola

Example Sentences

But no living plants have such cupules, and the fossils the researchers had found were of partially decayed plants, making thorough analysis impossible.

From Science Magazine

The fruit of the oak, being an oval nut growing in a woody cup or cupule.

From Project Gutenberg

The generally one-seeded nut-like fruit is associated with the persistent often hardened or greatly enlarged bracts forming the so-called cupule which gives the name to the group.

From Project Gutenberg

As development of the ovary and seeds progresses, the cupule also grows, and ultimately entirely surrounds the cluster with the hedgehog-like coat in which the nuts are contained when ripe.

From Project Gutenberg

In the Chestnut the cupule forms the bur; in the Hazel, a leafy husk.

From Project Gutenberg