prophyll

English

Etymology

Originally coined by French botanists, from Ancient Greek πρό (pró) and φύλλον (phúllon).

Noun

prophyll (plural prophylls)

1. (botany) The frequently specialised or reduced leaf produced at the first node of a new shoot.

Usage notes

Between the coining of the word and the second half of the 20th century, a great amount of confusion existed in the definitions of the word and its equivalents in French and German. Many authors believed the prophyll to be a specific structure, and specialists of the Aroidea often give it such a sense.