Phyllode

phyllode

[′fi‚lōd]

(botany)

A broad, flat petiole that replaces the blade of a foliage leaf.

(invertebrate zoology)

A petal-shaped group of ambulacra near the mouth of certain echinoderms.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Phyllode

 

a petiole that is broadened in the shape of a leaf and fulfills the functions of the leaf blade, which is absent or partially reduced. Phyllodes are present in many Australian acacias and in some Australian cassias. Phyllodes characterize a number of plants that grow in the USSR, including Lathyrus missolia. Phyllodes apparently serve as an adaptation to a decrease in transpiration.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.