trifoliate

American  

[trahy-foh-lee-it, -eyt] / traɪˈfoʊ li ɪt, -ˌeɪt /

Sometimes trifoliated

adjective

1. having three leaflets, lobes, or foils; trefoil.

2. Botany. trifoliolate.

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trifoliate British  

/ traɪˈfəʊlɪɪt, -ˌeɪt /

adjective

1. having three leaves, leaflike parts, or (of a compound leaf) leaflets

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Etymology

Origin of trifoliate

First recorded in 1690–1700; tri- + foliate

Example Sentences

The researchers posit that true Citrus species, such as mandarins and trifoliate oranges, first evolved in south-central China around eight million years ago.

From Scientific American • Oct. 11, 2023

The American Garden-bean is a tender, annual plant from the East Indies, with a dwarfish or climbing stem and trifoliate leaves.

From The Field and Garden Vegetables of America Containing Full Descriptions of Nearly Eleven Hundred Species and Varietes; With Directions for Propagation, Culture and Use. by Burr, Fearing

Botanical Description.—A shrub 15–20° high with compound trifoliate leaves with long petioles; leaflets lanceolate, acuminate, smooth, dark green.

From The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines by Thomas, Jerome Beers

Triadelphous†, triangular, tricuspid, tricapsular†, tridental†, tridentate, tridentiferous†, trifoliate, trifurcate, trigonal†, trigrammic†, trigrammatic†, tripetalous†, tripodal, tripodic†, triquetral†, triquetrous†.

From Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases by Roget, Peter Mark

In the large genus Desmodium by far the greater number of the species are trifoliate; but some are unifoliate, and even the same plant may bear uni- and trifoliate leaves.

From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles