Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PLUME, or PLU'MULE, n.

In botany, the ascending scaly part of the corculum or heart of a seed; the scaly part of the embryo plant within the seed, which rises and becomes the stem or body. It extends itself into the cavity of the lobes, and is terminated by a small branch resembling a feather, from which it derives its name. – Martyn. Milne.