lodicule

American  

[lod-i-kyool] / ˈlɒd ɪˌkyul /

noun

Botany.

1. one of the specialized scales at the base of the ovary of certain grass flowers.

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lodicule British  

/ ˈlɒdɪˌkjuːl /

noun

1. any of two or three minute scales at the base of the ovary in grass flowers that represent the corolla

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lodicule Scientific  

/ lŏd′ĭ-kyo̅o̅l′ /

1. One of two or three small rounded bodies at the base of the carpel of a grass flower. The swelling of the lodicules forces apart the flower's bracts, exposing the flower's reproductive organs.

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Etymology

Origin of lodicule

1860–65; < New Latin lōdīcula, diminutive of Latin lōdīx (stem lōdīc- ) blanket, rug; -ule

Example Sentences

In Melica there is one large anterior lodicule resulting presumably from the union of the two which are present in allied genera.

From Project Gutenberg

Professor E. Hackel, however, regards this as an undivided second pale, which in the majority of the grasses is split in halves, and the posterior lodicule, when present, as a third pale.

From Project Gutenberg

Lodicule, one of the scales answering to perianth-leaves in Grass-flowers.

From Project Gutenberg