sepal
one of the individual leaves or parts of the calyx of a flower.
Origin of sepal
1Other words from sepal
- sepaled, sepalled, adjective
Words Nearby sepal
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use sepal in a sentence
Many edible flowers can be eaten whole, but some are best disassembled to avoid the inedible sepal, pistil, and stamens—basically the base of the flower and all those funky bits in the center.
White or palest rose of sepal and petal, the latter marked with purplish lines at the base.
The Woodlands Orchids | Frederick BoyleThe colour of sepal and petal pink, the throat yellow, the spreading disc magenta-crimson.
The Woodlands Orchids | Frederick BoyleHarrisoniae in colour and size of sepal and petal; in general shape and in the hues of the labellum after L. purpurata.
The Woodlands Orchids | Frederick BoyleThe great dorsal sepal is white above, tender green in two shades below, with strong green lines ascending from the base.
The Woodlands Orchids | Frederick Boyle
The yellow ground colour shows itself only in a few narrow streaks upon sepal and petal, and in the base of the lip.
The Woodlands Orchids | Frederick Boyle
British Dictionary definitions for sepal
/ (ˈsɛpəl) /
any of the separate parts of the calyx of a flower
Origin of sepal
1Derived forms of sepal
- sepalled or sepalous (ˈsɛpələs), adjective
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
Scientific definitions for sepal
[ sē′pəl ]
One of the usually separate, green parts that surround and protect the flower bud and extend from the base of a flower after it has opened. Sepals tend to occur in the same number as the petals and to be centered over the petal divisions. In some species sepals are colored like petals, and they can even be indistinguishable from petals, as in the lilies (in what are called tepals). In some groups, such as the poppies, the sepals fall off after the flower bud opens. See more at flower.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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