Sepals

Sepals

Sepals (/ˈsiːpəlz/) are a part of the flower of a plant. They are the parts that look like small leaves that cover the outside of a bud in a flower.

Etymology

The term "sepal" comes from the New Latin word sepalum, which means "covering". This term was coined by Noël Martin Joseph de Necker in 1790, as a translation of the German term "Deckblatt".

Function

Sepals often serve to protect the petals when the flower is in bud, and to support the petals when the flower blooms. Their appearance can vary widely, from the small, green, leaf-like structures in most flowering plants to the large, petal-like sepals in flowers like the hibiscus.

Related Terms

• Petal: The colorful parts of a flower that are often what most people think of when they think of flowers.
• Stamen: The part of the flower that produces pollen.
• Calyx: The term for all of the sepals of a flower when they are viewed as a group.
• Corolla: The term for all of the petals of a flower when they are viewed as a group.

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