decumbent

American  

[dih-kuhm-buhnt] / dɪˈkʌm bənt /

adjective

1. lying down; recumbent.

2. Botany. (of stems, branches, etc.) lying or trailing on the ground with the extremity tending to ascend.

---

decumbent British  

/ dɪˈkʌmbənt /

adjective

1. lying down or lying flat

2. botany (of certain stems) lying flat with the tip growing upwards

---

Other Word Forms

• decumbence noun
• decumbency noun
• decumbently adverb

Etymology

Origin of decumbent

1635–45; < Latin dēcumbent- (stem of dēcumbēns ), present participle of dēcumbere. See decubitus, -ent

Example Sentences

Most arrived more or less by acceptable means, but the suburban affliction defined as "a grass with creeping or decumbent stems which root freely at the nodes" sneaked in.

From Time Magazine Archive

The root of the hoary, decumbent, and less elegant, but larger-flowered Hedysarum mackenzii is poisonous, and nearly killed an old Indian woman at Fort Simpson, who had mistaken it for that of the preceding species.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

It is decumbent, and difficult to harvest for hay when seeded alone.

From Crops and Methods for Soil Improvement by Agee, Alva

Woody at base; two to eight feet high; erect or decumbent.

From The Wild Flowers of California: Their Names, Haunts, and Habits by Parsons, Mary Elizabeth

This is a tall perennial grass with a creeping root-stock bearing erect stems and occasionally decumbent or prostrate stolons.

From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by Rangachari, K.