verticil

American  

[vur-tuh-sil] / ˈvɜr tə sɪl /

noun

Botany, Zoology.

1. a whorl or circle, as of leaves or hairs, arranged around a point on an axis.

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verticil British  

/ ˈvɜːtɪˌsɪl /

noun

1. biology a circular arrangement of parts about an axis, esp leaves around a stem

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Etymology

Origin of verticil

1695–1705; < Latin verticillus spindle whorl, equivalent to vertic- (stem of vertex ) vertex + -illus diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

We see this in those hermaphrodites which from the rudiments still present manifestly once possessed more stamens or pistils than they now do,—even twice as many, as a whole verticil has often been suppressed.

From The Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species by Darwin, Charles

Meiophylly.—A diminished number of leaves in a whorl occasionally takes place; thus, in some of the Stellatæ, and frequently in Paris quadrifolia, the number of leaves in the verticil is reduced.

From Vegetable Teratology An Account of the Principal Deviations from the Usual Construction of Plants by Masters, Maxwell T.

In one instance the pseudo leaf divided, and from the division proceeded a little axis, bearing at its summit a verticil of pseudo leaves.

From Vegetable Teratology An Account of the Principal Deviations from the Usual Construction of Plants by Masters, Maxwell T.

The carpels may be arranged either at the same or nearly the same height in a verticil, or at different heights in a spiral cycle.

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

The carpels of the latter are wholly coalescent as in a pear, while those of the upper verticil are only partially coherent or sometimes quite distinct.

From Vegetable Teratology An Account of the Principal Deviations from the Usual Construction of Plants by Masters, Maxwell T.