Crossword clues for stipule
stipule
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Stipule \Stip"ule\, n. [L. stipula a stalk, stem, straw: cf. F. stipule. Cf. Stubble.] (Bot.) An appendage at the base of petioles or leaves, usually somewhat resembling a small leaf in texture and appearance.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
"small appendage at the base of the petiole of a leaf," 1793, from French stipule, from Latin stipula "stalk (of hay), straw," from PIE *stip-ola-, from root *steip- "to stick, compress" (see stiff (adj.)).
Wiktionary
n. (context botany English) Basal appendage of a typical leaf of a flowering plant, usually appearing paired beside the petiole although sometimes absent or highly modified.
WordNet
n. a small leafy outgrowth at the base of a leaf or its stalk; usually occurring in pairs and soon shed
Wikipedia
In botany, stipule ( Latin stipula: straw, stalk) is a term coined by Linnaeus which refers to outgrowths borne on either side (sometimes just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). A pair of stipules is considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many species the stipules are inconspicuous or entirely absent (and the leaf is then termed exstipulate).
In some older botanical writing, the term "stipule" was used more generally to refer to any small leaves or leaf-parts, notably prophylls.
Stipules are morphologically variable and might appear as glands, scales, hairs, spines, or laminar (leaf-like) structures. A relationship exists between the anatomy of the stem node and the presence or absence of stipules: most plants with trilacunar nodes have stipules; species with unilacunar nodes lack stipules.
Usage examples of "stipule".
Certain plants excrete a sweet juice, apparently for the sake of eliminating something injurious from their sap: this is effected by glands at the base of the stipules in some Leguminosae, and at the back of the leaf of the common laurel.
The wind sweeps up the leaves on the floor, too, and the churning debris pumps around the perimeter of the clearing— red autumn leaves, moist green leaves, petals, stipules, whole bracts—pumps around like a carousel without horses but with strange beasts formed of leaves.