caudicle

plural caudicles · alternative caudicula

1. biologyA slender, elastic process to which the masses of pollen in orchidaceous plants are attached.

   The caudicle holds the pollen grains together (Proctor and Harder 1994; Fig. 1).

   2000, E. Pacini, G. G. Franchi, “Types of Pollen Dispersal Units in Monocots”, in Karen Wilson, David Morrison, editors, Monocots: Systematics and Evolution, unnumbered page

   2 more examples

   A pollinium when highly developed consists of a mass of pollen-grains, affixed to an elastic foot-stalk or caudicle, and this to a little mass of extremely viscid matter.

   1858, Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species, volume 2, Harvard Classics Edition, published 1909, page 251

   The structure of the rostellum and caudicles of the pollinia are worth noting. There are four pollinia, separated into two pairs. Each pair is attached to a long caudicle ending in a mass of sticky material or a distinct, viscid disc, except that in one species, I. intermedia, the two caudicles share a viscid disc. The rostellum in all species has two projections on which the caudicles lie.

   1996, Rebecca Tyson Northen, Miniature Orchids and How to Grow Them, page 86

   Synonyms: stipe