Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CULM, n. [L. culmus; Ir. colbh; W. colov, a stalk or stem; L. caulis; D. kool. See Quill and Haulm.]

1. In botany, the stalk or stem of corn and grasses, usually jointed and hollow, and supporting the leaves and fructification. – Martyn.
2. The straw or dry stalks of corn and grasses.
3. A species of fossil coal, found in small masses, not adhering when heated, difficult to be ignited, and burning with little flame, but yielding a disagreeable smell. Nicholson. Journ. of Science.