Pe*dun"cle (?), n. [Formed fr. (assumed) L. pedunculus, dim. of pes, pedis, a foot: cf. F. pédoncule.] 1. (Bot.) The stem or stalk that supports the flower or fruit of a plant, or a cluster of flowers or fruits.

&fist; The ultimate divisions or branches of a peduncle are called pedicels. In the case of a solitary flower, the stalk would be called a peduncle if the flower is large, and a pedicel if it is small or delicate.

2. (Zoöl.) A sort of stem by which certain shells and barnacles are attached to other objects. See Illust. of Barnacle.

3. (Anat.) A band of nervous or fibrous matter connecting different parts of the brain; as, the peduncles of the cerebellum; the peduncles of the pineal gland.

• A stalk; a stem; stalklike part (of a flower, fruit, cluster, or animal body), such as a stalk that bears the fructification in some fungi, the stalk of a lobster's eye, or a white bundle of nerve fibers connecting various parts of the brain.