palea
Americannoun
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paleae
plural
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a chafflike scale or bract.
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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
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the inner of two bracts surrounding each floret in a grass spikelet Compare lemma 1
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any small membranous bract or scale
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paleae
plural
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The inner or upper of the two bracts enclosing one of the small flowers within a grass spikelet.
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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 K. Rangachari
The rachilla is produced behind the palea and it ends in two small teeth, one being slightly larger than the other.
From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by K. Rangachari
The fourth glume is thin, hyaline, oblong-lanceolate, obtuse, paleate, and bisexual; palea lanceolate, narrow, two-toothed at the apex, with deep purple anthers and stigmas of the same colour.
From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by K. Rangachari
The third glume is similar to the second, paleate; palea is lanceolate and short.
From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by K. Rangachari
Having two keelÏlike projections, as the upper palea of grasses.
From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2nd 100 Pages) by Noah Webster
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 Sir Francis Darwin
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 Sir Francis Darwin
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.
