palea

American  

[pey-lee-uh] / ˈpeɪ li ə /

noun

plural

paleae

1. a chafflike scale or bract.

2. 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.

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palea British  

/ ˌpeɪlɪˈeɪʃəs, ˈpeɪlɪə /

noun

1. the inner of two bracts surrounding each floret in a grass spikelet Compare lemma 1

2. any small membranous bract or scale

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palea Scientific  

/ pā′lēə /

plural

paleae

1. The inner or upper of the two bracts enclosing one of the small flowers within a grass spikelet.

2. The chaffy scales on the receptacle of a flower head in a plant of the composite family.

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Other Word Forms

• paleaceous adjective
• paleate adjective

Etymology

Origin of palea

1745–55; < New Latin, special use of Latin palea chaff

Example Sentences

Grain is tightly enclosed by the hardened glume and its palea and is oblong or ellipsoid.

From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by Rangachari, K.

On the other face of the grain which is towards the palea, the hilum is seen at the base.

From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by Rangachari, K.

The first and the second glumes are membranous, alike and as long as the third, the second glume is usually epaleate and occasionally with a minute palea.

From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by Rangachari, K.

Generally there are two nerves in a palea and its margins are enclosed within those of the glume.

From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by Rangachari, K.

The third glume is shorter than the second, finely acuminate, or awned, 7-nerved, membranous, paleate and with three stamens and two lodicules; the palea is shorter than the glume, linear-oblong, subacute.

From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by Rangachari, K.