pulvinus
Americannoun
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Botany. a cushionlike swelling at the base of a leaf or leaflet, at the point of junction with the axis.
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Architecture. pulvinar.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pulvinus
First recorded in 1855–60, pulvinus is from the Latin word pulvīnus cushion
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:
Oxalis.—We now come to cotyledons provided with a pulvinus, all of which are remarkable from the continuance of the nocturnal movements during several days or even weeks, and apparently after growth has ceased.
From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles
The cotyledons of some species of Trifolium are provided with a pulvinus, and others are destitute of one, and so it is with the leaves in the genus Sida.
From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles
In this and the following species the end of the petiole, where united to the blade, is developed into a pulvinus.
From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles
The sinking movement is due to the downward curvature of the petiole, no part of which exhibits any structure like that of a pulvinus.
From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles
They are not provided with a pulvinus, but continue to grow for a long time.
From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles
Leaves and cotyledons assume their nocturnal position by two means, by the aid of pulvini and without such aid.
From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles
Thus the movements of the cotyledons of Brassica oleracea and of Ipomoea caerulea, which are not provided with pulvini, are as complex as those of Oxalis and Cassia which are thus provided.
From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles
Oxalis corniculata: A and B the almost rudimentary pulvini of the cotyledons of two rather old seedlings, viewed as transparent objects.
From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles
Other facts lead to the same conclusion, such as the presence of pulvini, by the aid of which the nocturnal movement is continued during some weeks.
From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles
"However, these trees have conscious control of their pulvini, whereas the Earth's plants don't, and so they can do a lot of things that Earth plants can't."
From The Venus Trap by Smith, Evelyn E.
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.
