plumule

[ploom-yool]

noun

1. Botany.,  the bud of the ascending axis of a plant while still in the embryo.

2. Ornithology.,  a down feather.

plumule

/ ˈpluːmjuːl /

noun

1. the embryonic shoot of seed-bearing plants

2. a down feather of young birds that persists in some adults

plumule

1. The young shoot of a plant embryo, situated above the cotyledons and consisting of the epicotyl and often of immature leaves.

2. See more at germination

Other Word Forms

• plumular adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of plumule¹

1720–30; < New Latin, Latin plūmula. See plume, -ule

Word History and Origins

Origin of plumule¹

C18: from Late Latin plūmula a little feather

Example Sentences

These plumules interlock and trap tiny pockets of air — it’s actually this layer of air that keeps the cold out and the warmth in.

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Embryo thick and fleshy, "with a large concealed cavity at the summit, the plumule curved in a groove on the outside."

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The sprout at the end of a seed when it begins to germinate; the plumule in germination; Ð so called from its spiral form.

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Finally the plumule escapes, its leaves successively breaking through at the tip of the germ-sheath.

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Within the cotyledons the primordial leaves are seen, constituting the plumule or first bud of the plant.

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Related Words

• fringe 
• plume