läppän

Läppän is a Swedish term that refers to a lip-like projection or border on a structure. In botanical contexts, läppän is sometimes used to denote the lip-like petal of a flower, a structure that in many languages is called the labellum. The läppän is typically a prominent, specialized petal that can function as a landing platform for pollinators. In orchid terminology, the more common Swedish word for this feature is läpp, while läppän may appear in older texts or in dialectal usage.

The word originates from läpp, meaning lip, with the suffix -än forming a noun that denotes a characteristic feature. Thus läppän is part of descriptive morphology rather than a separate anatomical unit. Outside botany, the term can occasionally describe lip-like edges or flanges on seeds, fruits, or mechanical parts such as a seal or gasket. In medical or strictly anatomical contexts, the standard terms lip or labium are generally preferred; läppän is uncommon and is mostly encountered in linguistic, dialectal, or historical references.

Usage and regional variation are limited. Today, läppän is not a widely standardized term in scientific Swedish; it appears mainly in older literature or in dialectal descriptions. For contemporary scientific communication, practitioners typically use more specific terms such as labellum for flowers or lip for anatomical contexts. See also labellum, lip (anatomy).