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enus Scalaria, or family Scalaridæ, having elongated spiral turreted shells, with rounded whorls, usually crossed by ribs or varices. The color is generally white or pale. Called also ladder shell, and wentletrap. See Ptenoglossa, and Wentletrap.

Having a straight shaft with whorls of spines; -- said of certain sponge spicules. See Illust. under Spicule.

Having the whorls of the spire revolving or rising to the left; reversed; -- said of certain spiral shells.

genera. The shell is conical, and usually has a large, deep umbilicus exposing the upper whorls. Called also perspective shell.

m, an operculum whih has spiral lines of growth. -- Spiral shell, any shell in which the whorls form a spiral or helix. -- Spiral spring. See the Note under Spring, n., 4.

A spiral; a curl; a whorl; a twist. Dryden.

An annual herb (Spergula arvensis) with whorled filiform leaves, sometimes grown in Europe for fodder. [Written also spurrey.] Sand spurry (Bot.), any low herb of the genus Lepigonum, mostly found in sandy places.

A European perennial herb (Asperula cynanchica) with narrowly linear whorled leaves; -- formerly thought to cure the quinsy. Also called quincewort. Squinancy berries, black currants; -- so called because used to cure the quinsy. Dr. Prior.

A seam, or impressed line, as between the segments of a crustacean, or between the whorls of a univalve shell. Glover's suture, Harmonic suture, etc. See under Glover, Harmonic, etc.

Tern leaves (Bot.), leaves arranged in threes, or three by three, or having three in each whorl or set. -- Tern peduncles (Bot.), three peduncles growing together from the same axis. -- Tern schooner (Naut.), a three-masted schooner.

The whole set of whorls of a spiral shell.

Spiral with the whorls decreasing rapidly from a large base to a pointed apex; -- said of certain shells.

Furnished with a turret or turrets; specifically (Zoöl.), having the whorls somewhat flattened on the upper side and often ornamented by spines or tubercles; -- said of certain spiral shells.

ny fossil ammonite of the genus Turrilites. The shell forms an open spiral with the later whorls separate.

lla and allied genera. These mollusks have an elongated, turreted shell, composed of many whorls. They have a rounded aperture, and a horny multispiral operculum.

One of the prominent ridges or ribs extending across each of the whorls of certain univalve shells.

r; as, a ventricose corolla. Ventricose shell. (Zoöl.) (a) A spiral shell having the body whorls rounded or swollen in the middle. (b) A bivalve shell in which the valves are strongly convex.

the family Vermetidæ. Their shells are regularly spiral when young, but later in life the whorls become separate, and the shell is often irregularly bent and contorted like a worm tube.

A circle either of leaves or flowers about a stem at the same node; a whorl. [Written also verticel.]

A whorl of flowers apparently of one cluster, but composed of two opposite axillary cymes, as in mint. See Illust. of Whorl.