sepal
[see-puh l]
- one of the individual leaves or parts of the calyx of a flower.
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Origin of sepal
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for sepal
Historical Examples
In one flower of the last-named species the perianth consisted of one sepal only, and one lip-like petal placed opposite to it.
Vegetable TeratologyMaxwell T. Masters
Petal and sepal are ‘stone-colour,’ warmed, one cannot say even tinged, with crimson.
The Woodlands OrchidsFrederick Boyle
White of sepal and petal, with the vast magenta-crimson lip of Hardyana.
The Woodlands OrchidsFrederick Boyle
White or palest rose of sepal and petal, the latter marked with purplish lines at the base.
The Woodlands OrchidsFrederick Boyle
The colour of sepal and petal pink, the throat yellow, the spreading disc magenta-crimson.
The Woodlands OrchidsFrederick Boyle
sepal
- any of the separate parts of the calyx of a flower
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Word Origin
C19: from New Latin sepalum: sep-, from Greek skepē a covering + -alum, from New Latin petalum petal
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for sepal
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
sepal
[sē′pəl]
- One of the usually separate, green parts that surround and protect the flower bud and extend from the base of a flower after it has opened. Sepals tend to occur in the same number as the petals and to be centered over the petal divisions. In some species sepals are colored like petals, and they can even be indistinguishable from petals, as in the lilies (in what are called tepals). In some groups, such as the poppies, the sepals fall off after the flower bud opens. See more at flower.
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