palmately

Palmately is an adjective and adverb used to describe a morphology in which parts radiate from a single central point, as the fingers from the palm of a hand. The term derives from Latin palma, palm, with the suffix -atus, and is used in botanical descriptions to indicate a hand-like arrangement.

In botany, palmately describes two related patterns involving leaves and their venation. Palmately compound leaves consist of leaflets that all arise from one point at the end of the petiole, creating a star- or hand-shaped arrangement. Common examples include horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) and Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia). Palmately lobed leaves have lobes that spread from a single point on the blade, as seen in many maples (Acer species). Palmately veined leaves have several major veins radiating from the base of the leaf blade, as in Ricinus communis (castor bean) and some grape leaves.

Palmately is often contrasted with pinnately, where components are arranged along a central axis rather than from a single point. While most frequent in plant morphology, the term can also describe other biological patterns that originate from a common center.

In summary, palmately characterizes a hand-like, radiating pattern at a single origin, most commonly applied to leaf structure and venation in plants.