calyx

Noun

WordNet 3.0

Noun (1)

  1. (botany) the whorl of sepals of a flower collectively forming the outer floral envelope or layer of the perianth enclosing and supporting the developing bud; usually green
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Calyx \Ca"lyx\ (k[=a]"l[i^]ks; 277), n.; pl. E. Calyxes (k[=a]"l[i^]ks*[e^]z), L. Calyces (k[a^]l"[i^]*s[=e]z). [L. calyx, -ycis, fr. Gr. ka`lyx husk, shell, calyx, from the root of kaly`ptein to cover, conceal. Cf. Chalice Helmet.]

1.(Bot.) The covering of a flower. See Flower. [1913 Webster]

Note: The calyx is usually green and foliaceous, but becomes delicate and petaloid in such flowers as the anemone and the four-o'clock. Each leaf of the calyx is called a sepal. [1913 Webster]

2.(Anat.) A cuplike division of the pelvis of the kidney, which surrounds one or more of the renal papill[ae]. [1913 Webster]

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