palea
Americannoun
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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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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:
In the axil of each lemma, and usually concealed by it, is a smaller bract, the palea, and between the lemma and the palea is a single flower.
From The Plants of Michigan Simple Keys for the Identification of the Native Seed Plants of the State by Gleason, Henry Allan
The third glume is similar to the second, paleate; palea is lanceolate and short.
From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by Rangachari, K.
The third glume is similar to the second glume, 5-nerved, paleate, empty; palea is hyaline oblong, acute.
From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by Rangachari, K.
The fourth glume is shorter than the third, deeply cleft into two lanceolate acute lobes, 3-veined at the base; awn up to about 2/3 inch long; palea is linear lanceolate.
From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by Rangachari, K.
In mature spikelets the grain which is free is enclosed by the fourth glume and its palea.
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.
