capitulum

< /kəˈpɪtʃ ə lə/.

1. Biology. any globose or knoblike part, as a flower head or the head of a bone.

noun plural -la (-lə)

1. a racemose inflorescence in the form of a disc of sessile flowers, the youngest at the centre. It occurs in the daisy and related plants
2. anatomy zoology a headlike part, esp the enlarged knoblike terminal part of a long bone, antenna, etc

n.

used in various senses in English; Latin, literally “little head,” diminutive of caput “head,” also “leader, guide, chief person; summit; capital city; origin, source, spring,” figuratively “life, physical life;” in writing “a division, paragraph;” of money, “the principal sum,” from PIE *kaput- “head” (see head (n.)).

n. pl. ca•pit•u•la (-lə)

1. A small head or rounded articular extremity of a bone.

Plural capitula

1. A small knob or head-shaped part, such as a protuberance of a bone or the tip of an insect’s antenna.
2. An inflorescence consisting of a compact mass of small stalkless flowers, as in the English daisy. The yellow central portion of the capitulum of a daisy consists of disk flowers, while the outer white, petallike structures are actually ray flowers. The capitulum is the characteristic inflorescence of the composite family (Asteraceae) of flowering plants.