puberulent

9.9

A plant surface that has fine, short, soft hairs

adjective
/ˌpjuːbərˈjuːlənt/

Specialized

: puberulento

The leaves of the young plant were puberulent, giving them a soft, fuzzy appearance.

Examples

The flower's bud was covered in puberulent hairs, making it feel velvety to the touch.
He noticed the puberulent texture of the tree branches when inspecting them closely.
Margaret exposed her puberulent pucker.

Watch Out (2008)

Synonyms

downy

vspuberulent

4 4.2

Soft and having many fine, light hairs or feathers

focuses on very short soft hairs instead of fluffy or feathery texture

hoary

vspuberulent

Specialized

1 9.8

Covered with fine white hairs, usually on plants or animals

describes short soft hairs without implying whiteness or color

pubescent

vspuberulent

Specialized

7.7

Covered with soft fine hairs like down

emphasizes very short hairs rather than any hair length

pilose

vspuberulent

Specialized

9.9

A surface with fine, soft hairs like a furry leaf

means the hairs are especially short and soft

sericeous

vspuberulent

Specialized

9.9

A surface with fine soft hairs that look like silk

describes hairs as short and simply soft rather than silky

tomentous

vspuberulent

Specialized

9.9

Covered in many short, woolly hairs on a leaf or stem

means thinly covered with fine very short hairs not dense woolly coat

How Hairy

hairy

134 1.0

puberulent

Specialized

9.9

glabrous

Specialized

9.9

Surface Forms

puberulent positive

Etymology

Puberulent comes from the Latin root puber meaning 'soft down or fine hair' and the ending -ulent meaning 'full of'. Think of the related word pubescent and the word 'puberty', which also link to hair, so puberulent describes a surface that is slightly covered with fine, short, soft hairs.