pachycauln.adj.
/ˈpakɪkɔːl/, U.S. /ˈpækiˌkɔl/, /ˈpækiˌkɑl/ Botany.
A. n.
A tree having a thick primary stem and few or no branches (a primitive growth form especially characteristic of the tropics). Cf. leptocaul n. and adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > tree or woody plant > characterized by habit > [noun] > other types of tree (characterized by habit) > leptocaul or pachycaul
leptocaul1949
pachycaul1949
1949 E. J. H. Corner in Ann. Bot. 13 393 The old clumsy pachycaul with massive and slow-growing branches.
1974 Kew Bull. 29 549 In herbaceous species [of giant lobelia]..the development is similar to that of the forest pachycauls.
1993 Amer. Jrnl. Bot. 80 671/2 Mabberley..believed..that the herbaceous taxa [in the subfamily Lobelioideae] evolved from pachycauls via a general reduction in body mass.
B. adj.
= pachycaulous adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > tree or woody plant > characterized by habit > [adjective] > characterized by other growth habits
brachiate1835
mop-headed1862
polycormic1899
leptocaul1949
pachycaulous1949
leptocaulous1964
pachycaul1964
1964 E. J. H. Corner Life of Plants ix. 155 The pachycaul plants establish themselves by robust growth.
1973 A. J. Willis Introd. Plant Ecol. v. 55 A tendency to a pachycaul habit is seen in the ash, with its pinnate leaves and thick stubby twigs.
1974 New Phytologist 73 977 Leptocauls do not become pachycaul on islands.
1992 M. Ingrouille Diversity & Evol. Land Plants 200 Pachycaul trees with massive axes, including single-stemmed trees like palms, are the least adaptable, because without branching it is impossible to increase the area of the canopy even if the trunk anatomy were to allow it.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1949