PINNULE

pinna, pinnule

(noun) division of a usually pinnately divided leaf

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Noun

pinnule (plural pinnules)

(botany) Any of the ultimate leaflets of a bipinnate or tripinnate leaf; a subleaflet.

(zoology) A part or an organ which resembles the barb of a feather, particularly the side branches on the stalks of crinoids; Any of the lateral divisions of the finger-like stalks of an encrinite.

Synonyms

• (subleaflet): pinnula

Source: Wiktionary

Pin"nule, n. Etym: [L. pinnula, dim. of pinna feather: cf. F. pinnule.]

1. (Bot.)

Definition: One of the small divisions of a decompound frond or leaf. See Illust. of Bipinnate leaf, under Bipinnate.

2. (Zoöl.)

Definition: Any one of a series of small, slender organs, or parts, when arranged in rows so as to have a plumelike appearance; as, a pinnule of a gorgonia; the pinnules of a crinoid.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition