Plecotinæ (plekotine)

pl. [NL., Pleco- plectospondylous (plek-to-spon'di-lus), a. [ plectrum There Plectra nth us (plek-tranthus), n. [NL. (L'Hé- ritier, 1784), so called in allusion to the spurred corolla of many species; πλῆκτρον , spur (see plectrum ), + ἄνθος, flower.] A genus of gamopetalous plants of the order Labiatæ, tribe Ocimoideæ , and subtribe Euocimeæ , char- acterized by the longer and concave anterior corolla-lobe, four perfect stamens, calyx with five equal or unequal teeth, the posterior tooth sometimes larger, and this or the corolla often prolonged below into a spur or sac. are about 80 species, natives of the tropics, especially in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific, and also in Japan and at the Cape of Good Hope. They are usually herbs, rarely tall shrubs, bearing two-lipped flowers with a long tube, in large or small cymes, which are variously racemed or pan- icled, and are commonly blue or purple. The name cock- spur - flower is sometimes used for the cultivated species, which are either tender annuals or herbs and shrubs grown under gla . P. nudiflorus is the Chinese basil, and P. ternatus the omime-root of Madagascar. plectre (plek'ter), n. [F. plectre , plectrum .] A plectrum. [Rare.] He'd strike that lyre adroitly - speech, Would but a twenty-cubit plectre reach. Browning , Sordello.