Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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quillwort (ˈkwɪlˌwɜːt) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| any aquatic tracheophyte plant of the genus Isoetes, with quill-like leaves at the bases of which are spore-producing structures: family Isoetaceae, phylum Lycopodophyta (club mosses, etc) | |
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| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
quillwort
any of about 150 species of plants in the family Isoetaceae, order Isoetales. Quillworts are spore-bearing lycophytes with grassy, spikelike leaves and are native mostly to swampy, cooler parts of North America and Eurasia. The spirally arranged, quill-like leaves are divided into vertical rows of cavities that are connected to one central conducting strand. The leaves rise from a cormlike or tuberlike base, with roots below. A large, saclike, round-to-oblong sporangium is sunk into a pit on the inner surface of each leaf base, where a small, thin structure known as a ligule also occurs. Most quillworts grow submerged in water all or part of the year. The terrestrial species tend to grow in seasonally wet habitats, and the plants die back to the corm when the soil dries
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