Meanings
nounphyllotaxis (usually uncountable, plural phyllotaxes)
plural phyllotaxes · alternative phyllotaxy
- uncountableusuallybiologyThe arrangement of leaves on a stem, or the mathematical principles governing such arrangement.
Yet his Lordship would find this rate of proportion […] likewise in all plants, in the disposition of their leaves, for which ordering he would make a name, that is, from the Greek, phyllotaxis.
1985, John Fowles, A Maggot
Origin
Translations
Greek φυλλοταξία
- φυλλοταξία (fyllotaxía)The arrangement of leaves on a stem
Irish duilleagar
- duilleagarThe arrangement of leaves on a stem
Italian fillotassi
- fillotassiThe arrangement of leaves on a stem
Spanish filotaxis
- filotaxisThe arrangement of leaves on a stem
Cite this entry
APA
phyllotaxis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phyllotaxis
MLA
“phyllotaxis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phyllotaxis. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “phyllotaxis,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phyllotaxis.
Source: phyllotaxis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.