Flattened or spread out; used in biology to describe organisms or structures that are flat and wide rather than raised or compact.
From Latin explanatus (past participle of explanare: ex- 'out' + planare 'to flatten'). The biological sense refers to flattened structures.
In biology, an 'explanate' structure is literally flattened out—like certain jellyfish or fungi that spread themselves thin across surfaces rather than forming compact shapes.
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