English

A diagram of the moss Funaria hygrometrica, from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Bryophyta; the peristome is labelled "p"

Noun

peristome ‎(plural peristomes)

1. (botany) One or two rings of tooth-like appendages surrounding the opening of the capsule of many mosses.
   • 1911, Bryophyta, article in Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition,

     Its removal does not, however, leave the mouth of the capsule wide open, for around the margin are two circles of pointed teeth forming the peristome.

2. (zoology) The parts of or surrounding the mouths of numerous invertebrates.
   • 1911, Polyp, article in Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition,

     We can distinguish therefore in the body of a polyp the column, circular or oval in section, forming the trunk, resting on a base or foot and surmounted by the crown of tentacles, which enclose an area termed the peristome, in the centre of which again is the mouth. […] The mouth may be level with the surface of the peristome, or may be projecting and trumpet-shaped.

3. The lip, or edge of the aperture, of a spiral shell.

Anagrams

• temporise