Ochrea
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Ocreae_of_a_Persicaria_maculosa_2006-aug-10_Gothenburg_Sweden.jpg/200px-Ocreae_of_a_Persicaria_maculosa_2006-aug-10_Gothenburg_Sweden.jpg)
An ochrea (Latin ocrea, greave or protective legging), also spelled ocrea, is a plant structure formed of stipules fused into a sheath surrounding the stem, and is typically found in the Polygonaceae.
In palms it denotes an extension of the leaf sheath beyond the petiole insertion.
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