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Botany. a protuberance at or surrounding the hilum of a seed.
Zoology. a fleshy excrescence, as on the head of a bird; a fowl’s comb.
Anatomy. a small, fleshy growth.
Historical Examples

Retraction of the caruncle is best avoided by closing the conjunctival wound with a stitch, and thus pulling the caruncle forward.
A System of Operative Surgery, Volume IV (of 4) Various

caruncle: a soft, naked, fleshy excrescence or protuberance.
Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology John. B. Smith

Below A is seen a small conical elevation, with black dots (the lacrymal papilla or caruncle).
A Practical Physiology Albert F. Blaisdell

The seeds cannot be carried so well unless this ridge, caruncle, be present.
Seed Dispersal William J. Beal

Almost every caruncle present after 50 days could be flicked off easily with a probe or fingernail.
Natural History of the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata Agassiz John M. Legler

Did you ever hear of the caruncle on the head of the turkey?
Cornell Nature-Study Leaflets Various

The caruncle remains on the beak for a variable length of time, but never is present in the spring following hatching.
Natural History of the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata Agassiz John M. Legler

caruncle, kar-unk′l, n. a small fleshy excrescence, as the wattles of the turkey-cock.
Chambers’s Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) Various

A short and thickish appendage at or close to the hilum in certain seeds is called a caruncle or Strophiole (Fig. 419).
The Elements of Botany Asa Gray

The latter operation consists in excising a wedge-shaped piece of the posterior wall of the urethra containing the caruncle.
A System of Operative Surgery, Volume IV (of 4) Various

noun
a fleshy outgrowth on the heads of certain birds, such as a cock’s comb
an outgrowth near the hilum on the seeds of some plants
any small fleshy mass in or on the body, either natural or abnormal

caruncle ca·run·cle (kə-rŭng’kəl, kār’ŭng’-)
n.
A fleshy, naked outgrowth.