What is "ligule"

Ligule \Lig"ule\ (l[i^]g"[-u]l), n. [L. ligula, lingula, little tongue, dim of lingua tongue : cf. F. ligule.]

1. (Bot.)

   1. The thin and scarious projection from the upper end of the sheath of a leaf of grass.

   2. A strap-shaped corolla of flowers of Composit[ae].

2. (Anat.) A band of white matter in the wall of fourth ventricle of the brain.

n. 1 A strap-shaped structure. 2 (context botany English) A portion of a leaf found at the base of the petiole, when present. 3 (context botany English) In many grasses (Poaceae) and some sedges (Cyperaceae), the membranous appendage or ring of hairs projecting from the inner side of a leaf at the junction between the blade and the sheath.

n. (botany) any appendage to a plant that is shaped like a strap

A ligule (from "strap", variant of lingula, from lingua "tongue") — is a thin outgrowth at the junction of leaf and leafstalk of many grasses (Poaceae) and sedges. A ligule is also a strap-shaped extension of the corolla, such as that of a ray floret in plants in the daisy family Asteraceae.