"basal" in the adjective sense
1. radical, basal
especially of leaves located at the base of a plant or stem especially arising directly from the root or rootstock or a root-like stem
"basal placentation"
"radical leaves"
2. elementary, elemental, primary, basal
of or being the essential or basic part
"an elementary need for love and nurturing"
"a basal reader"
3. basal, base
serving as or forming a base
"the painter applied a base coat followed by two finishing coats"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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