palea Meaning, Definition & Usage

Pa"le*a noun

Etymology

L., chaff.

Wordforms

plural Paleæ

Definitions

1. (Bot.) (a) The interior chaff or husk of grasses. (b) One of the chaffy scales or bractlets growing on the receptacle of many compound flowers, as the Coreopsis, the sunflower, etc.
2. (Zoöl.) A pendulous process of the skin on the throat of a bird, as in the turkey; a dewlap.