strobilus

[ stroh-bahy-luhs ]

noun

, Botany.

, plural stro·bi·li [stroh-, bahy, -lahy].

1. a reproductive structure characterized by overlapping scalelike parts, as a pine cone or the fruit of the hop.
2. a conelike structure composed of sporophylls, as of the club mosses and horsetails.

strobilus

/ ˈstrəʊbaɪl; ˈstrəʊbɪləs /

noun

1. botany the technical name for cone

strobilus

/ strō-bī′ləs /

, Plural strobili strō-bī′lī

1. A reproductive structure that consists of sporophylls or scales arranged spirally or in an overlapping fashion along a central stem, as in horsetails, some lycophytes, and many kinds of gymnosperms. For example, the cones of pine trees are strobili.
2. An inflorescence or ripened multiple fruit in which many floral bracts are arranged in an overlapping fashion, as in the hop plant.

Word History and Origins

Origin of strobilus¹

1700–10; < New Latin strobīlus, Late Latin: pine cone < Greek stróbīlos pine cone, whirlwind, whirling dance, derivative of stróbos whirling around

Word History and Origins

Origin of strobilus¹

C18: via Late Latin from Greek strobilos a fir cone; see strobila

Example Sentences

In the hop the fruit is called also a strobilus, but in it the scales are thin and membranous, and the seeds are not naked but are contained in pericarps.

From Project Gutenberg

A spike bearing female flowers only, and covered with scales, is a strobilus, as in the hop.

From Project Gutenberg