spikelet

[ spahyk-lit ]

nounBotany.
  1. a small or secondary spike in grasses; one of the flower clusters, the unit of inflorescence, consisting of two or more flowers and subtended by one or more glumes variously disposed around a common axis.

Origin of spikelet

1
First recorded in 1785–95; spike2 + -let

Words Nearby spikelet

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How to use spikelet in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for spikelet

spikelet

/ (ˈspaɪklɪt) /


noun
  1. botany the unit of a grass inflorescence, typically consisting of two bracts (glumes) surrounding one or more florets, each of which is itself surrounded by two bracts: See lemma 1, palea

  2. the small inflorescence of plants of other families, esp the sedges

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 spikelet

spikelet

[ spīklĭt ]


  1. A small spike, especially one that is part of the characteristic inflorescence of grasses and sedges. A grass spikelet consists of one or more florets (reduced flowers). Each floret contains a pistil and stamens and is enclosed by two bracts, the lemma and the palea. At the base of the entire spikelet are two additional scalelike bracts, the glumes.

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