steeltje

Steeltje is a Dutch noun meaning a small stem or shoot. It is the diminutive form of steel, the word for a stem or stalk of a plant, formed with the diminutive suffix -tje. The term is used in everyday language as well as in botanical writing to indicate smallness or slenderness of a plant part.

In botany and horticulture, steeltje describes slender plant stems, especially young growth or the portion that bears leaves or flowers. It can refer to the tiny stalk that connects a flower to the main stem, or to new shoots that appear on a branch. For propagation, more technical terms such as stek or stekje are common, but steeltje is still used in casual or descriptive contexts to stress the size.

In usage, steeltje can carry a tactile or affectionate nuance when describing garden plants or produce, as in garden notes or guides. It is not a formal scientific term; precise anatomical vocabulary is preferred in academic contexts.

The term steeltje is primarily a general Dutch noun rather than a specific concept or proper noun. Related terms include steel (the stem itself) and other plant-related words, but steeltje is chiefly a descriptive, everyday word in Dutch.