palea
[pey-lee-uh]
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noun, plural pa·le·ae [pey-lee-ee] /ˈpeɪ liˌi/.
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.
Origin of palea
1745–55; < New Latin, special use of Latin palea chaff
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for palea
Historical Examples of palea
The palea is as long as the glume, 2-toothed or not at the apex.
A Handbook of Some South Indian GrassesRai Bahadur K. Ranga Achariyar
The third glume is hyaline, empty, nerveless and without a palea.
A Handbook of Some South Indian GrassesRai Bahadur K. Ranga Achariyar
The awn or beard is merely an elongation of the palea inferior.
The long slender awn is inserted below the bifid tip of the palea.
GrassesH. Marshall Ward
Caryopsis grooved, blunt and more tightly held in the palea.
GrassesH. Marshall Ward
palea
pale
noun plural paleae (ˈpeɪlɪˌiː) or pales botany
Word Origin for palea
C18: from Latin: straw, chaff; see pallet 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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palea
[pā′lēə]
Plural paleae (pā′lē-ē′)
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.