caruncle

Meanings

1. A small, fleshy excrescence that is a normal part of an animal's anatomy.
2. Clipping of lacrimal caruncle: the red prominence at the inner corner of the eye.
3. A colored waxy or oily outgrowth near the micropyle of some seeds, attractive to ants which aid the seed's dispersal.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French caruncule, from Latin caruncula (“a little piece of flesh”), diminutive of carō (“flesh”). Doublet of caruncula.