umbeln.
/ˈʌmbl/, U.S. /ˈəmb(ə)l/ 1. † b. An umbelliferous plant. Obsolete. rare.
a. Botany. A mass of inflorescence borne upon pedicels of nearly equal length springing from a common centre. Cf. umbella n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > flower or part containing reproductive organs > inflorescence or collective flower > [noun] > of particular type, shape, or arrangement > umbel or ray
spoke1578
umbel1597
muscary1657
umbella1699
radius1727
ray1727
universal umbel1760
umbellet1793
umbellule1793
sertulum1831
1597 J. Gerard Herball i. 19 His stalke is long, big and square,..and on his top a chaffie vmbell or tuft like vnto the true Cyperus.
1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 904 The flowers stande at the tops of the stalkes in small spokie vmbles.
1634 T. Johnson tr. A. Paré Chirurg. Wks. xxvii. xii. 1103 Almost all hearbes that carry their flowres and seeds in an umbell, have seeds of a hot, subtle, and aiery substanc.
1652 N. Culpeper Eng. Physitian Enlarged 48 The middle part being hollow and low, and the outer stalks rising high, maketh the whole Umbel to shew like a Birds nest.
1682 Nat. Hist. Coffee, Thee, Chocolate, Tobacco 28 On the top of the Branches [of the elder]..there spring sweet and crisped umbels, swelling with white odoriferous Flowers.
1731 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. I. at Umbella That Umbel which consists of Pedicles only, is call'd a Simple Umbel; that which is compos'd both of Rays and Pedicles, is call'd a Compound Umbel.
1785 T. Martyn tr. J.-J. Rousseau Lett. Elements Bot. v. 57 At first sight you would say, here is an umbellate plant. In looking at it, you would find a large or universal umbel, a small or partial umbel [etc.].
1832 E. Lankester Veg. Substances Food 192 The water-parsnip bears its flowers in umbels close upon the fruits of the stem.
1859 ‘G. Eliot’ Adam Bede I. i. ii. 26 The gently-curving stems of the feathered grass..and the white umbels of the hemlocks lining the bushy hedgerows.
1882 Garden 11 Feb. 93/1 Nearly the whole of the flowers composing the umbel were succeeded by capsules.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Umbelliferae (umbellifers) > [noun] > an umbellifer
umbel1702
umbellifer1718
1702 J. Floyer in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 23 1167 I refer the Umbells to the Grasses, because of their Sweetness and Joynted Stalks.
1714 J. Petiver in Philos. Trans. 1713 (Royal Soc.) 28 189 The Peculiarity of this Umbell, is to have its Root Leaves deeply cut.
2. Zoology. An umbelliform arrangement of parts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > [noun] > umbelliform arrangement
umbel1870
1870 H. A. Nicholson Man. Zool. I. 311 Umbellate,..forming an umbel; i.e. a number of nearly equal radii all proceeding from one point.
1891 Cent. Dict. Umbellularia,..a genus of deep-sea alcyonarian polyps, having the polypites clustered in an umbel on top of the polypidom.
Compounds
attributive and in other combinations (in sense 1a).
ΚΠ
1683 J. Reid Scots Gard'ner (1907) 98 The wild service,..when spread over with their umbel-fashion'd bright red fruit.
1712 J. Petiver in Philos. Trans. 1710–12 (Royal Soc.) 27 420 The Flowers pale,..in an umbel-like tuft.
1725 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Œconomique at Guaiacum The Flowers appear umbel-wise and are of a pale yellow.
1802 R. Hall Elem. Bot. 192 Umbelliferous,..umbel-bearing.
1829 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Plants 268 Umbel-flowered.
1858 R. Hogg Veg. Kingdom 370 Umbelliferæ.—Umbelflowers.
1861 S. Thomson Wanderings among Wild Flowers (rev. ed.) ii. 121 The fruit of the composites, like that of the umbel-bearers, looks like a seed.
1870 J. D. Hooker Student's Flora Brit. Islands 166 Silaus pratensis... Umbel-rays 1–2 in., few or many, incurved.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1921; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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