Pedunculate

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having a stalk or peduncle, which is a stem-like structure supporting an organ or flower
2. Describes something that is borne on a stalk or has a stalk-like attachment
3. Referring to an object or part of a plant that stands out on a small supporting stem

Etymology: "Pedunculate" describes plants and parts of plants that grow on a small stalk, such as the common oak, whose acorns hang from slender stems. The stalk itself is the key: in botany, a "peduncle" is the stem that bears a single flower or fruit, and the adjective is built on that noun. The word reached English from Late Latin "pedunculatus", itself derived from "pedunculus", the diminutive of "pes", meaning "foot". A peduncle is therefore a little foot, a small support holding up its flower or fruit, and the Latin metaphor of a foot or base for a bloom is the whole logic of the term.