Orchidaceae
plural noun
Or·chi·da·ce·ae
Definition of Orchidaceae
: a very large family of highly specialized perennial herbaceous monocotyledonous plants (order Orchidales) that have entire sheathing or scalelike leaves, tuberous or bulbous or thickened roots, and extremely complex usually showy flowers with a calyx of three often petaloid sepals, a corolla of three petals of which one forms a distinctive and often spurred labellum, a column consisting of the variously fused style, stigma, and stamen, the pollen usually aggregated into pollinia which adhere to visiting insects, and an inferior ovary and that reproduce by minute seeds lacking endosperm and containing chlorophyll — see orchid, orchis
Test Your Vocabulary
Words Named After People
-
- Namesake of the leotard, Jules Léotard had what profession?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
A daily challenge for crossword fanatics.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share Orchidaceae