Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for phyllotaxis. Search instead for phyllotaxes.

phyllotaxis

American  
[fil-uh-tak-sis] / ˌfɪl əˈtæk sɪs /

noun

Botany.

plural

phyllotaxes
  1. phyllotaxy.


phyllotaxis British  
/ ˌfɪləˈtæksɪs /

noun

  1. the arrangement of the leaves on a stem

  2. the study of this arrangement in different plants

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • phyllotactic adjective

Etymology

Origin of phyllotaxis

First recorded in 1870–75; phyllo- + -taxis

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.

The former condition represents a lower, the latter condition represents a higher, order of phyllotaxis.

From The Genus Pinus by Shaw, George Russell

Although we are not quite sure how Dr Falconer in tends to apply the law of phyllotaxis to illustrate his idea, we fancy that a pertinent illustration may be drawn from it in this way.

From Darwiniana; Essays and Reviews Pertaining to Darwinism by Gray, Asa

Cones with a dorsal umbo, the phyllotaxis complex.

From The Genus Pinus by Shaw, George Russell

The law of phyllotaxis, like that of the elastic curve, is carried out in time as well as in space.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 05, No. 30, April, 1860 by Various

If the cone is conical, definite phyllotaxis would be possible among all the scales only when the size of the scales diminishes in equal measure with the gradual diminution of the cone's diameter.

From The Genus Pinus by Shaw, George Russell