scale leaf

noun

a scalelike leaf, as a bud scale or certain bracts.

Origin of scale leaf

First recorded in 1880–85

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for scale leaf

scale leaf

noun botany

a modified leaf, often small and membranous, protecting buds, etc

any of the leaves of some conifers, such as cypresses, that are small and tightly pressed to the stem

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