Wednesday, September 9, 2009

PINNATE


Pinnate is a term used to describe feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis in plant or animal structures, and comes from the Latin word pinna meaning “feather”, “wing” or “fin”. A similar term is pectinate, which refers to a comb-like arrangement of parts. The term contrasts somewhat with palmate, in which the parts or structures radiate out from a common point.