epicalyxn.
/ˌɛpᵻˈkeɪlɪks/, /ˌɛpᵻˈkalɪks/, U.S. /ˌɛpəˈkeɪlɪks/, /ˌɛpəˈkɑɪlɪks/ Botany.
A whorl of sepal-like parts located immediately beneath the calyx (calyx n. 1a) in the flowers of certain plants.
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1847 A. Henfrey Outl. Struct. & Physiol. Bot. ix. 137 Many plants possess bracts arising immediately below the sepals and alternating with them; some authors include them as parts of the flower, under the name of epi-calyx, but they are generally described as an involucre.
1878 Garden 22 June 605/2 It is a common characteristic of many genera of Malvaceæ (Malva, Althæa, Hibiscus, &c.) to have an epicalyx.
1917 Buck's Ref. Handbk. Med. Sci. (ed. 3) VIII. 567/2 The pistillate panicles [of Hagenia abyssinica] are easily distinguished by their large epicalices and their reddish-brown color.
1952 P. Mann Systematics Flowering Plants ii. 105 In Strawberry, Avens, and Cinquefoil there is an outer ring (epicalyx) of smaller sepals alternating with the true ones, and thought to represent their joined stipules.
2010 Internat. Jrnl. Plant Sci. 171 603/2 Late-developing perianth-like structures are relatively common around the ovary base in a wide range of angiosperm flowers, including the epicalyces of some Dipsacales.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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