spathe

American  

[speyth] / speɪð /

noun

Botany.

1. a bract or pair of bracts, often large and colored, subtending or enclosing a spadix or flower cluster.

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spathe British  

/ spəˈθeɪʃəs, speɪð /

noun

1. a large bract, often coloured, that surrounds the inflorescence of aroid plants and palms

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spathe Scientific  

/ spāth /

1. A large, leaflike, often showy bract that encloses a flower cluster or spadix, as in the jack-in-the-pulpit or calla lily.

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Other Word Forms

• spathaceous adjective
• spathed adjective

Etymology

Origin of spathe

1775–85; < Latin spatha < Greek spáthē blade, sword, stem; spade ²

Example Sentences

Its hoodlike structure is called a spathe, which envelopes a bulb-shaped structure called the spadix, a fleshy knob dotted by dozens of tiny, petal-less yellow flowers.

From Salon • May 27, 2025

But once she blooms, viewers can expect to see Putricia unfold a vibrant maroon or crimson skirt, known as a spathe, around her spadix which is the large spike in the middle of the plant.

From BBC • Jan. 22, 2025

The tiny white flowers within the spathe are an important food source for the first pollinators of the year.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 25, 2022

When the spathe finally unfurls, the chartreuse spadix heats up to about 90 degrees and releases a rancid blend of chemicals.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 1, 2018

Flowers diœcious or monœcious, axillary, solitary and sessile; the sterile consisting of a single stamen enclosed in a little membranous spathe; anther at first nearly sessile, the filament at length elongated.

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

Related Words

• covering