rachilla

[ ruh-kil-uh ]

noun

, Botany.

, plural ra·chil·lae [r, uh, -, kil, -ee].

1. a small or secondary rachis, as the axis of a spikelet in a grass inflorescence.

rachilla

/ rəˈkɪlə /

noun

1. (in grasses) the short stem of a spikelet that bears the florets

rachilla

/ rə-kĭl′ə /

, Plural rachillae rə-kĭl′ē

1. The stalk that bears the florets in the spikelets of grasses and similar plants, such as rushes and sedges. The rachilla often has a zigzag shape, with florets at each point at which the orientation of the rachilla turns.

Word History and Origins

Origin of rachilla¹

1835–45; < New Latin, diminutive of rachis rachis

Word History and Origins

Origin of rachilla¹

C19: from New Latin, diminutive of rachis

Example Sentences

The third and the subsequent glumes are regularly arranged on the slender rachilla alternately in two rows.

From Project Gutenberg

This prolonged rachilla sometimes bears a minute glume, which is of course rudimentary.

From Project Gutenberg

In Eriochloa it is reduced to a minute ridge lying just close to the swollen ring-like joint of the rachilla.

From Project Gutenberg

The rachilla is jointed just above the empty glumes and it is produced or not beyond the flowering glumes.

From Project Gutenberg

The rachilla is produced behind the palea and it ends in two small teeth, one being slightly larger than the other.

From Project Gutenberg