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involucel

[in-vol-yuh-sel]
noun Botany.
  1. a secondary involucre, as in a compound cluster of flowers.
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Origin of involucel

1755–65; < New Latin involūcellum, diminutive of Latin involūcrum involucrum; for formation, see castellum
Related formsin·vol·u·cel·ate [in-vol-yuh-sel-it] /ɪnˌvɒl yəˈsɛl ɪt/, in·vol·u·cel·at·ed [in-vol-yuh-sel-ey-tid] /ɪnˌvɒl yəˈsɛl eɪ tɪd/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for involucel

Historical Examples

  • Calyx with a 3-leaved involucel at the base, like an outer calyx.

    The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States

    Asa Gray

  • Calyx either naked or with a 3-leaved involucel at its base.

  • Spikelets are obovoid or lanceolate, 1- to 2-flowered, persistent on their stalks, one to three in an involucel.

    A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses

    Rai Bahadur K. Ranga Achariyar

  • When the umbellets are subtended by an involucre, this secondary involucre is called an Involucel.

British Dictionary definitions for involucel

involucel

involucellum (ɪnˌvɒljʊˈsɛləm)

noun plural -cels or -cella (-ˈsɛlə)
  1. a ring of bracts at the base of the florets of a compound umbel
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Derived Formsinvolucellate or involucellated, adjective

Word Origin

C19: from New Latin involūcellum a little cover; see involucre
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012