perfoliate

[ per-foh-lee-it, -eyt ]

adjective

, Botany.

1. having the stem apparently passing through the leaf, owing to congenital union of the basal edges of the leaf round the stem.

perfoliate

/ pəˈfəʊlɪɪt; -ˌeɪt /

adjective

1. (of a leaf) having a base that completely encloses the stem, so that the stem appears to pass through it

Derived Forms

• perˌfoliˈation, noun

Other Words From

• per·foli·ation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of perfoliate¹

1540–50; < New Latin perfoliātus ( per-, foliate ), the feminine of which, perfoliāta, was formerly used as the name of a plant with a stalk that seemed to grow through (pierce) its leafage

Word History and Origins

Origin of perfoliate¹

C17: from New Latin perfoliātus, from Latin per- through + folium leaf

Example Sentences

A summer branch of Uvularia perfoliata; lower leaves perfoliate, upper cordate-clasping, uppermost simply sessile.

From Project Gutenberg

Connate-perfoliate, when a pair of leaves are connate round a stem, 60.

From Project Gutenberg

The former is usually confined to the small intestine, but the perfoliate worm often occupies the ccum and colon in great numbers.

From Project Gutenberg