Velum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The term, velum, derived from Latin velum, meaning a "sail", "curtain," "awning" or "veil", has several quite separate meanings in biology:
- the locomotory and feeding organ provided with cilia found in the larval stage called the veliger or "velum-bearing" stage of bivalves, such as mussels and oysters; also a delicate membrane found on certain Protists.
- the veil-like membrane of immature mushrooms extending from the margin of the cap to the stem and torn by growth, revealing the gills of a mature sporophore; in a mature mushroom, the remains of the velum may form an annulus or ring around the stem, familiar from common button mushrooms and sometimes on the margin of the cap.
- the soft palate behind the hard palate
- Velum is also a common misspelling of vellum, pigskin with which books were once covered. Today, Leatherette, leather, cloth or paper are more commonly used.
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