tenpetal

Tenpetal is a botanical descriptor used to denote a flower whose corolla consists of ten petals. The term appears in field notes, floristry, and descriptive taxonomy to convey floral form, and it is formed from the numerals ten and petal. In some sources it is written as ten-petal or tenpetaled, with conventions varying by discipline.

Petal count can be variable within a species or across developmental stages, and interpretations of ten petals can be influenced by fusion or petaloid structures. Some flowers that appear to have ten petals do so because of five petals with paired lobes, or because adjacent petals are partially fused. Therefore, counting should distinguish genuine petals from petaloid sepals or lobes, and should be considered alongside other characteristics such as symmetry and merosity.

In practical use, tenpetal is primarily a descriptive term rather than a formal taxonomic category. When precision is required in formal keys, botanists may prefer the term decamerous to indicate ten-part symmetry or use more general descriptors such as pentamerous for five-part flowers. Tenpetal commonly appears in horticultural descriptions and decorative floristry, where the tenfold petal arrangement may contribute to a specific aesthetic or pattern. Etymologically, the term combines the Latin prefix for ten with petal, reflecting its straightforward descriptive roots.