scorpioid

American  

[skawr-pee-oid] / ˈskɔr piˌɔɪd /

adjective

1. resembling a scorpion.

2. belonging or pertaining to the Scorpionida, the order of arachnids comprising the scorpions.

3. curved at the end like the tail of a scorpion.

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scorpioid British  

/ ˈskɔːpɪˌɔɪd /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or resembling scorpions or the order ( Scorpionida ) to which they belong

2. botany (esp of a cymose inflorescence) having the main stem coiled during development

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Etymology

Origin of scorpioid

1830–40; < Latin scorpi ( ō ) scorpion + -oid

Example Sentences

The inflorescence in the family Boraginaceae are usually regarded as true scorpioid cymes.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 5 "Fleury, Claude" to "Foraker" by Various

Fruit 2-lobed, separating into two 2-celled 2-seeded carpels, with sometimes a pair of empty false cells; style very short; flowers in bractless scorpioid spikes.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa

Here there are scorpioid cymes of pairs of flowers, each pair consisting of an older and a younger flower.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 5 "Fleury, Claude" to "Foraker" by Various

Nutlets erect and straight, unarmed, attached to the axis either at inner edge of base or ventrally from the base upward.—Ours are very hispid annuals or biennials, with small white flowers in scorpioid spikes.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa

Diagram of analogous scorpioid cyme, with alternate leaves or bracts.

From The Elements of Botany For Beginners and For Schools by Gray, Asa