Plural of aculeus; small, needle-like structures or spines found in insects and plants.
Direct Latin plural of aculeus ('needle,' 'prickle,' or 'sting'). Retained in modern scientific terminology for anatomical precision.
Aculei are everywhere in nature—the tiny spines on a cactus, the barbs on a rose, the stinger of a bee—and Latin gave us this one word to describe all of them, which is why scientists love Latin.
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