Verticillate

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To show a pattern of alternating colors or stripes as well as to have leaves that are arranged in a circular or spiral manner around a stem while forming structures that encircle a central axis
2. To exhibit leaves or other parts organized in circular rings around a central stem or axis
3. Displaying a botanical pattern where elements such as leaves grow in round clusters around a main stalk

Etymology: Verticillate comes from the Latin "verticillus," a diminutive of "vertex," meaning a whirl or pivot, the same root that gives English "vertex" and "vertigo." The Latin word was used for small whorls and spindle-like rings, such as the little wheel or whorl on a spindle that twisted thread as it turned. English took the adjective "verticillātus," meaning arranged in whorls, directly from Latin, and the verb "verticillate" is the English form of it. A verticillate plant grows its leaves or flowers in rings encircling a stem at the same level, so the word describes a pattern of rotation: parts radiating around a single point like the spokes of a wheel.