palea
Americannoun
-
a chafflike scale or bract.
-
the scalelike, membranous organ in the flowers of grasses that is situated upon a secondary axis in the axil of the flowering glume and envelops the stamens and pistil.
noun
-
the inner of two bracts surrounding each floret in a grass spikelet Compare lemma 1
-
any small membranous bract or scale
-
The inner or upper of the two bracts enclosing one of the small flowers within a grass spikelet.
-
The chaffy scales on the receptacle of a flower head in a plant of the composite family.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of palea
1745–55; < New Latin, special use of Latin palea chaff
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The fourth glume is hyaline, deeply lobed into two oblong obtuse glabrous or ciliate lobes, with an awn twice as long as the spikelet in the cleft, and paleate; palea is lanceolate, acuminate, 2-nerved.
From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by Rangachari, K.
Portion of a branch; 2. spikelet; 3, 4 and 5. the first, second and third glumes; 6. palea; 7. anthers and ovary; 8. grain.
From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by Rangachari, K.
Spike; 2. spikelet; 3 and 4. first and second glumes; 5 and 6. third glume and its palea; 7. ovary and anthers.
From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by Rangachari, K.
The fourth glume is as long as the third, cuspidately acuminate, membranous, 5-nerved and paleate; palea is ovate, as long as the glume.
From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by Rangachari, K.
The third glume is oblong, sub-acuminate, a little shorter than the second glume, 3-nerved, sub-chartaceous, paleate; palea is similar to the glume in texture.
From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by Rangachari, K.
The paleae open for a short period for stigma to be dusted, and then close again, and such travelling down would take place under protection.
From More Letters of Charles Darwin — Volume 2 by Darwin, Francis, Sir
Ears expel anthers when kept in water in room; but the paleae apparently do not open and expose stigma; but the stigma could easily be artificially impregnated.
From More Letters of Charles Darwin — Volume 2 by Darwin, Francis, Sir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
