Category:Tendril

Ten"dril, n. Etym: [shortened fr. Of. tendrillon, fr. F. tendre Tender; hence, properly, the tender branch or spring of a plant: cf. F. tendrille. See tender, a., and cf. Tendron.] (bot.)

Defn: a slender, leafless portion of a plant by which it becomes Attached to a supporting body, after which the tendril usually Contracts by coiling spirally.

Note: tendrils may represent the end of a stem, as in the grapevine; An axillary branch, as in the passion flower; stipules, as in the Genus smilax; or the end of a leaf, as in the pea.

Tendril Ten"dril, a.

Defn: clasping; climbing as a tendril. [r.] Dyer.