‖ palea
(ˈpeɪliːə)
Pl. -eæ (-iːiː).
[L. palea chaff.]
1. Bot. A chaff-like bract or scale; esp. the inner bracts enclosing the stamens and pistil in the flower of grasses (opposed to the glumes or outer bracts); also, those at the bases of the individual florets in many Compositæ; the scales on the stems of certain ferns.
| 1753 [see paleaceous]. 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. i. viii. (1765) 16 Palea, a Chaff, is a thin Substance, springing from the Receptacle to part the Florets. 1830 Lindley Nat. Syst. Bot. 198 (Compositæ) Bracteæ..when present, stationed at the base of the florets, and called paleæ of the receptacle. Ibid. 292 The paleæ of Grasses approach the nature of a calyx. 1847 W. E. Steele Field Bot. 179 Outer palea awned from the base or centre. |
2. Ornith. A pendulous caruncle on the throat of a bird; a wattle or dewlap.
| 1890 in Cent. Dict. |