noun
- a small bract or scale, especially one of the inner bracts enclosing the flower in grasses
Usage: botanical
Examples
- The botanist examined the palea under a microscope to identify the grass species.
- Each floret in the wheat spike is protected by a lemma and palea.
- The palea helps protect the developing seed in cereal grains.
- Students learned to distinguish between the lemma and palea in their botany class.
- The palea’s structure varies among different grass families.