catkin

noun

cat·kin ˈkat-kən

: a spicate inflorescence (as of the willow, birch, or oak) bearing scaly bracts and unisexual usually apetalous flowers

called also ament

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web This is one-to-one, a real conversation, me and this catkin, me and this honey mesquite. —

Citizen Science Salon, Discover Magazine, 30 Mar. 2015 Pruning may help increase the size of catkins next year. —

oregonlive, 21 Sep. 2019 Small balls of gray catkin fluff blew on the wind, seedpods from poplars, which bloom all over Warsaw in the spring. —

Ruth Franklin, The New Yorker, 29 July 2019 The oak catkins have elongated, however, on and off cooler temperatures and rain showers have helped to keep the tree count down. —

Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 1 May 2018 The crispy things are the catkins of the live oak trees (Quercus virginiana). —

Contributing Writer, NOLA.com, 10 Apr. 2018 The catkins contain the male flowers that shed pollen. —

Contributing Writer, NOLA.com, 10 Apr. 2018 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'catkin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.