spathe

spathe

(spāth)

A leaflike bract that encloses or subtends a flower cluster or spadix, as in the jack-in-the-pulpit.

[Latin spatha, broadsword, from Greek spathē, broad blade.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

spathe

(speɪð)

(Botany) a large bract, often coloured, that surrounds the inflorescence of aroid plants and palms

[C18: from Latin spatha, from Greek spathē a blade]

spathaceous adj

spathed adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

spathe

(speɪð)

n.

a bract, often large and colored, enclosing a spadix or spike of flowers.

[1775–85; < Latin spatha < Greek spáthē blade, sword, stem; compare spade²]

spathed, adj.

spathe

(spāth)

A leaf-like plant part that surrounds a spadix, as in the jack-in-the-pulpit.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

spathe - a conspicuous bract surrounding or subtending a spadix or other inflorescence

bract - a modified leaf or leaflike part just below and protecting an inflorescence

Translations

Spatha

spathe

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

For the sake of him who loves Thee beyond all else that moves, When thy Pack would make thee pain, Say: "Tabaqui sings again." When thy Pack would work thee ill, Say: "Shere Khan is yet to kill." When the knife is drawn to slay, Keep the Law and go thy way.(Root and honey, palm and spathe, Guard a cub from harm and scathe!) Wood and Water, Wind and Tree, Jungle-Favour go with thee!

View in context

It usually grows up to six feet tall and has a narrower spathe or the large leaf-like part or pair of some plants that encloses a flower cluster.

New Plant Species Discovered In The Philippines

The plant has a conical rhizome and is distinguished by first producing a chocolate coloured spathe -- a large bract -- that encases a bright yellow spadix.

Plant of the week: Plan with disgusting smell was used to induce childbirth

This included twigs, branches and coconut spathe, and with Abaca rope, silk flowers and other classic Christmas decor.

Scenic adventures worthy of a repeat

Preliminary pharmacognostic evaluation and volatile constituent analysis of spathe of Phoenix dactylifera L.

Urtica Dioica Distillate Regenerates Pancreatic Beta Cells in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

The inflorescence is present at the terminal or axillary spikes, stalked (up to 8 cm in length, first straight but curved after fruiting, often spiral), covered by a hyaline spathe 1 cm in length.

An update on morphology and distribution of Ruppia filifolia (Philippi) Skottsberg in the Magellan region, southern Chile

According to the respondents they cut the strands of male flowers from a freshly opened male spathe and placed 2-3 of these strands lengthwise and in inverted position between the strands of female inflorescence.

Date Palm Production Practices and Constraints in the Value Chain in Afar Regional State, Ethiopia

It has tiny white flowers which adorn a central spike, surrounded by a large white spathe.

Go to pot in a panic; Gardening club; Q & A

Seen from an art perspective, these dancers are a kind of ephemeral, living total work of art consisting of a lavish assemblage of body paintings, meshwork decorations, boar tusks, different shells and dog teeth, plaited or painted sago spathe head disks, feathers, flowers, shell bands, dried skins of birds and hair, and other materials.

The Dancers Who Became Transformed into Wood: the mai masks of the Iatmul, Papua New Guinea