‖ verticillus Bot.
(vɜːtɪˈsɪləs)
Pl. verticilli (-ˈsɪlaɪ).
[L. verticillus (Pliny) whorl (sc. of a spindle), dim. of vertex vertex. Cf. verticil.]
A verticil or whorl.
| 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. iii. iv. (1765) 174 Verticillus, a Whorl, expresses a Number of Flowers that are subsessile, and are produced in Rings round the Stems. 1783 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 2) X. 8570/2 The..smaller creeping germander, hath..reddish flowers, growing almost in a verticillus, or whorls, round the stalk. 1829 T. Castle Introd. Bot. 94 In the verticillus or whorl, the flowers surround the stem in a sort of ring. 1830 Lindley Nat. Syst. Bot. Introd. p. xxv, In most orders the sepals occupy one series or verticillus only. 1870 tr. Pouchet's Universe 388 When the floral apparatus is complete it is formed of four rosettes, or verticilli, of depressed concentrated leaves. |