| Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary 3,900,155,705 visitors served. |
Dictionary/ thesaurus | Medical dictionary | Legal dictionary | Financial dictionary | Acronyms | Idioms | Encyclopedia | Wikipedia encyclopedia | ? |
Aril |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Wikipedia | 0.01 sec. |
|
|
arilSpecial covering of certain seeds that commonly develops from the seed stalk. It is often a bright-coloured fleshy envelope, as in such woody plants as the yews and nutmeg and in members of the arrowroot family, oxalis, and the castor-oil plant. Animals are attracted to arils and eat the seeds, dispersing them in their wastes. The aril of nutmeg is the source of the spice known as mace. aril [′ar·əl] (botany) An outgrowth of the funiculus in certain seeds that either remains as an appendage or envelops the seed. Aril (also caruncle), an appendage of a seed. Arils, which are usually succulent and fleshy, attract birds and ants that distribute the seeds. Some types of arils are called arillodes and arilli. Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content. |
|
| Encyclopedia |
| Free Tools: |
For surfers:
Free toolbar & extensions |
Word of the Day |
Help
For webmasters: Free content | Linking | Lookup box | Double-click lookup |
|---|