[flawr-it, flohr-] 
| 1. | a small flower. |
| 2. | Botany. one of the closely clustered small flowers that make up the flower head of a composite flower, as the daisy. |
| 3. | one of the tightly clustered divisions of a head of broccoli or cauliflower. |
| 4. | Also, flo⋅rette [flaw-ret, floh-] . spun silk obtained from floss. |
| 5. | Printing. flower (def. 6). |
[flou-er] | 1. | the blossom of a plant. |
| 2. | Botany.
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| 3. | a plant, considered with reference to its blossom or cultivated for its floral beauty. |
| 4. | state of efflorescence or bloom: Peonies were in flower. |
| 5. | an ornament representing a flower. |
| 6. | Also called fleuron, floret. Printing. an ornamental piece of type, esp. a stylized floral design, often used in a line to decorate chapter headings, page borders, or bindings. |
| 7. | an ornament or adornment. |
| 8. | the finest or most flourishing period: Poetic drama was in flower in Elizabethan England. |
| 9. | the best or finest member or part of a number, body, or whole: the flower of American youth. |
| 10. | the finest or choicest product or example. |
| 11. | flowers, (used with a singular verb ) Chemistry. a substance in the form of a fine powder, esp. as obtained by sublimation: flowers of sulfur. |
| 12. | to produce flowers; blossom; come to full bloom. |
| 13. | to come out into full development; mature. |
| 14. | to cover or deck with flowers. |
| 15. | to decorate with a floral design. |
| flo·ret (flôr'ĭt, -ět) n.
[Middle English flouret, from Old French florete, diminutive of flor, flower; see flower.] |
| floret (flôr'ĭt) Pronunciation Key
A small or reduced flower, especially one that is part of a larger inflorescence, such as those of the grasses and plants of the composite family. |
flower (flou'ər) Pronunciation Key
(click for larger image in new window) The reproductive structure of the seed-bearing plants known as angiosperms. A flower may contain up to four whorls or arrangements of parts: carpels, stamens, petals, and sepals. The female reproductive organs consist of one or more carpels. Each carpel includes an ovary, style, and stigma. A single carpel or a group of fused carpels is sometimes called a pistil. The male reproductive parts are the stamens, made up of a filament and anther. The reproductive organs may be enclosed in an inner whorl of petals and an outer whorl of sepals. Flowers first appeared over 120 million years ago and have evolved a great diversity of forms and coloration in response to the agents that pollinate them. Some flowers produce nectar to attract animal pollinators, and these flowers are often highly adapted to specific groups of pollinators. Flowers pollinated by moths, such as species of jasmine and nicotiana, are often pale and fragrant in order to be found in the evening, while those pollinated by birds, such as fuschias, are frequently red and odorless, since birds have good vision but a less developed sense of smell. Wind-pollinated flowers, such as those of oak trees or grass, are usually drab and inconspicuous. See Note at pollination. |