[ noun ] slender stem-like structure by which some twining plants attach themselves to an object for support <noun.plant>
Tendril \Ten"dril\, n. [Shortened fr. OF. tendrillon, fr. F. tendre tender; hence, properly, the tender branch or spring of a plant: cf. F. tendrille. See {Tender}, a., and cf. {Tendron}.] (Bot.) A slender, leafless portion of a plant by which it becomes attached to a supporting body, after which the tendril usually contracts by coiling spirally.
Note: Tendrils may represent the end of a stem, as in the grapevine; an axillary branch, as in the passion flower; stipules, as in the genus Smilax; or the end of a leaf, as in the pea.
Tendril \Ten"dril\, a. Clasping; climbing as a tendril. [R.] --Dyer.
Stretched along the wall above was six yards of ash and hazel, with a tendril of horsehair attached to the narrow end. 'Dost thou', I began, then corrected myself.