Valvate

Valvate is a botanical term used to describe a structure whose parts meet along a margin without overlapping. The word derives from Latin valva, meaning a folding door or valve, and is applied to various plant organs, especially in floral buds and fruit.

In aestivation, valvate refers to the arrangement of floral organs in the bud where the margins of the lobes meet along a central line without overlapping. This pattern contrasts with imbricate (overlapping) and contort (twisted) forms and can influence how a flower opens.

Valvate dehiscence describes a mode of fruit opening where the fruit splits along defined sutures and the resulting valves separate rather than curling back or hingeing along their edges. The unopened margins meet at the seam, producing a characteristic two-part or multi-part opening in which seeds are released.

The term can also be used more broadly to describe any plant structure in which margins or lobes come together edge to edge rather than overlapping or curling. In practice, valvate is a descriptive term that helps distinguish specific closing or opening morphologies from other aestivation and dehiscence patterns.

Notes: Valvate is primarily a descriptive botanical term. It is often used alongside more specific terms for the particular organ involved (for example, valvate aestivation of petals) and is most informative when contrasted with imbricate or contort configurations.