labiate, a. and n.
(ˈleɪbɪət)
[ad. mod.L. labiāt-us, f. labi-um: see -ate3.]
A. adj.
1. Bot. a. Lipped: applied to flowers which have the corolla or calyx divided into two parts opposed in such a way as to suggest lips; bilabiate. b. Belonging to the family Labiatæ, consisting of herbaceous plants and under-shrubs, characterized by flowers of the form above described, opposite leaves, and usually square stalks, e.g. the mints, ground-ivy, the dead nettles, etc.
| 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Labiate Flowers (among Herbalists) are those that have one or two Lips; some of which represent a kind of Helmet, or Monk's Hood. 1785 Martyn Rousseau's Bot. iv. 46 The white Dead-nettle bears a monopetalous labiate flower. 1835 Lindley Introd. Bot. (1848) I. 334 When the two lips are separated from each other by a wide regular orifice,..the corolla is said to be labiate or ringent. 1862 Bellew Miss. Afghanistan 451 The greensward..was covered with a variety of labiate herbs, amongst which the wild thyme, mint, basil, sage, and lavender were recognized. 1881 Sci. Gossip 254 The black horehound and other labiate plants. |
2. a. Anat. and Zool. Formed like or resembling in shape, function, etc. a lip or labium. b. Ent. Of an orifice: Having thickened, fleshy margins.
In recent Dicts.
B. n. Bot. A labiate plant.
| 1845 Lindley Sch. Bot. vi. (1862) 95 Order XLIV. Lamiaceæ—Labiates. 1861 S. Thomson Wild Flowers iii. (ed. 4) 196 The common bugle,..one of the labiates. 1879 Lubbock Sci. Lect. i. 19 Generally in the Labiates, the corolla has the lower lip adapted as an alighting board for insects. |