labellum

American  

[luh-bel-uhm] / ləˈbɛl əm /

noun

Botany.

labella plural

1. the petal of an orchid that differs more or less markedly from the other petals, often forming the most conspicuous part; the lip.

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labellum British  

/ ləˈbɛləm /

noun

1. the part of the corolla of certain plants, esp orchids, that forms a distinct, often lobed, lip

2. a lobe at the tip of the proboscis of a fly

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• labelloid
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• labella
  plural

Etymology

Origin of labellum

1820–30; < Latin, diminutive of labrum lip; for formation see castellum

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

labellum labella

This includes the labellum, a part of the orchid flower that attracts insects and serves as a landing pad.

From Scientific American ● Jan. 24, 2018

This includes the labellum, a part of the orchid flower that attracts insects and serves as a landing pad4.

From Nature ● Jan. 22, 2018

Sometimes the twisting of a part makes a change in the position of other parts, as in Orchids, where the twisting of the ovary changes the position of the labellum.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 5 "Fleury, Claude" to "Foraker" by Various

There is one example, epipactis latifolia, with a cup-shaped labellum, in which honey is secreted, and which bees are never seen to frequent.

From The Relations of Science and Religion The Morse Lecture, 1880 by Calderwood, Henry

Sepals and very broad leaf-like petals rosy mauve, the yellow of the throat subdued, a fine patch of crimson lake on the labellum, with darker lines, leaving a wide margin of rosy mauve.

From The Woodlands Orchids by Boyle, Frederick

Capitulum: a small head: the enlarged tip of an antenna: the little knob at tip of halteres in Diptera: the labella or lapping tip of the mouth of certain flies.

From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by Smith, John. B.

The peculiarities of these flowers," writes Professor Gray, "are that they have three labella, and that the column is resolved into small petaloid organs.

From Vegetable Teratology An Account of the Principal Deviations from the Usual Construction of Plants by Masters, Maxwell T.

Pseudo-trachea: the ringed and ridged grooves on the labella of Diptera, by means of which they scrape their food.

From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by Smith, John. B.

From the analogy of other cases it would appear as if the additional labella in this instance were the representatives of two stamens of the outer whorl.

From Vegetable Teratology An Account of the Principal Deviations from the Usual Construction of Plants by Masters, Maxwell T.