verticillaster

American

[vur-tuh-si-las-ter] / ˌvɜr tə sɪˈlæs tər /

noun

Botany.

an inflorescence in which the flowers are arranged in a seeming whorl, consisting in fact of a pair of opposite axillary, usually sessile, cymes, as in many mints.

verticillaster British

/ ˌvɜːtɪsɪˈlæsˌtreɪt, ˌvɜːtɪsɪˈlæstə, -trɪt /

noun

botany an inflorescence, such as that of the dead-nettle, that resembles a whorl but consists of two crowded cymes on either side of the stem

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

verticillastrate adjective

Etymology

Origin of verticillaster

1825–35; < Latin verticill ( us ) verticil + -aster ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Verticillaster, a false whorl, formed of a pair of opposite cymes.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023