perfoliate

UK: /pəˈfəʊlɪɪt/ US: (pər fō′lē it, -āt′)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

per•fo•li•ate  (pər fō′lē it, -āt′), adj. [Bot.]

1. Botany having the stem apparently passing through the leaf, owing to congenital union of the basal edges of the leaf round the stem.

• Neo-Latin perfoliātus (see per-, foliate), the feminine of which, perfoliāta, was formerly used as the name of a plant with a stalk that seemed to grow through (pierce) its leafage
• 1540–50

per•fo′li•a′tion, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

perfoliate / pəˈfəʊlɪɪt -ˌeɪt/ adjective

1. (of a leaf) having a base that completely encloses the stem, so that the stem appears to pass through it

Etymology: 17th Century: from New Latin perfoliātus, from Latin per- through + folium leaf

perˌfoliˈation noun