capitulum (redirected from capitulum mandibulae)

ca·pit·u·lum  (k-pch-lm)

n. pl. ca·pit·u·la (-l)

1. Botany See flower head.

2. Biology A small knob or head-shaped part, such as a protuberance of a bone or the tip of an insect's antenna.

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[Latin, diminutive of caput, capit-, head; see kaput- in Indo-European roots.]

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capitulum  (k-pch-lm)

Plural capitula

1. A small knob or head-shaped part, such as a protuberance of a bone or the tip of an insect's antenna.

2. An inflorescence consisting of a compact mass of small stalkless flowers, as in the English daisy. The yellow central portion of the capitulum of a daisy consists of disk flowers, while the outer white, petallike structures are actually ray flowers. The capitulum is the characteristic inflorescence of the composite family (Asteraceae) of flowering plants.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	capitulum - a dense cluster of flowers or foliage; "a head of cauliflower"; "a head of lettuce" head plant organ - a functional and structural unit of a plant or fungus
	2.	capitulum - fruiting spike of a cereal plant especially corn spike, ear corn, Indian corn, maize, Zea mays - tall annual cereal grass bearing kernels on large ears: widely cultivated in America in many varieties; the principal cereal in Mexico and Central and South America since pre-Columbian times mealie - an ear of corn fruit - the ripened reproductive body of a seed plant
	3.	capitulum - an arrangement of leafy branches forming the top or head of a tree treetop, crown - the upper branches and leaves of a tree or other plant