‖ labellum
(ləˈbɛləm)
[L. ‘little lip’, dim. of labrum lip.]
1. Bot. The lower division or ‘lip’ of an orchidaceous corolla, often enlarged or curiously shaped.
| 1830 Lindley Nat. Syst. Bot. 263 Sometimes it [sc. the anther] stands erect, the line of dehiscence of its lobes being turned towards the labellum. 1859 Darwin Orig. Spec. vi. (1873) 154 This orchid has part of its labellum or lower lip hollowed out into a great bucket. 1882 Vines Sachs' Bot. 882 The labellum of Megaclinium falcatum. |
2. Ent. One of a pair of tumid lobes terminating the proboscis of certain insects.
| 1826 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. III. 361 |