In botany, describing leaves or plant structures that embrace or clasp around a stem.
From Latin 'amplectans,' present participle of 'amplectere' (to embrace). This botanical term was standardized in the 18th-19th centuries as botanists needed precise terminology for leaf arrangements.
Many plants have evolved amplectant leaves that hug their stems like a protective embrace—this shape helps them channel water down to their roots and reduces wind damage by streamlining the plant's profile.
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