(n.) An ament; a species of inflorescence, consisting of a slender axis with many unisexual apetalous flowers along its sides, as in the willow and poplar, and (as to the staminate flowers) in the chestnut, oak, hickory, etc. -- so called from its resemblance to a cat's tail. See Illust. of Ament.
Example Sentences:
(1) The extracts with the broadest spectra of activity were prepared from: Alnus rubra bark and catkins, Fragaria chiloensis leaves, Moneses uniflora aerial parts, and Rhus glabra branches.
(2) Dot immunoblotting of crude extracts of various aerial parts of birch trees, using patient serum rich in birch pollen IgE, showed IgE-binding activity in leaves, buds, twigs, seeds, bark, and old male catkins.
(3) Ginger, pippali (native to India; also called dried catkins), pepper, and garlic showed the highest activity followed by asafetida, mustard, and horse-gram (native to India).
(4) The current 2012 edition maintained the changes, and instead of catkin, cauliflower, chestnut and clover, today’s edition of the dictionary, which is aimed at seven-year-olds starting Key Stage Two, features cut and paste, broadband and analogue.
(5) Hazel catkins were profuse, catching out hay fever sufferers late in the month.
(6) • Hazel catkins, which usually appear in March and April, appeared early in autumn at Washington Old Hall, Tyne and Wear, for the second year running • Mammals generally entered the winter in good condition, especially badgers, wild deer, and the wild sheep and goats in Cheddar Gorge.
(7) You can also lobby your local council to get trees planted that are bee-friendly, such as hazel and alder whose catkins provide a vital source of pollen in the spring, when the bees need this protein to feed to their young, expanding colony.
(8) Mica flecks in ancient granite shone like gold dust in caramel-coloured streams, beech trees were decorated with delicately suspended catkins and the upland breezes infused with coconut-like scent from early flowering gorse.