Sepal Sepal A sepal ( or ) is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom. The term "sepalum" was coined by Noël Martin Joseph de Necker in 1790, and derived from the Greek σκεπη ("skepi"), a covering. Collectively the sepals are called the calyx (plural calyces), the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. The word "calyx" was adopted from the Latin "calyx", not to be confused with "calix", a cup or goblet. "Calyx" derived from
Cliffortia have arisen at four independent occasions. Trimerous flowers have three sepals of variable size, and in male flowers six to many stamens. Tetramerous flowers have four sepals of 5 mm long at most and either four or eight stamens. In female flowers the sepals are united at their base to form a calyx tube, and have one or two styles, that are finely divided like an ostridge feather. One or two achenes may develop in each flower, within the inflating calyx. The first who mentioned species that are currently assigned to "Cliffortia" was Leonard Plukenet in 1696. Names published before