acarpellous

9.9

Lacking the female parts of a flower that make seeds

adjective
/ˌeɪ.kɑːrˈpɛl.əs/

Specialized

: acarpeloso

The acarpellous flower lacks distinct carpels.

Examples

The rare species was identified as acarpellous, meaning it lacked female reproductive organs.
Researchers studied the acarpellous plants to understand the evolutionary loss of certain flower structures.
In botany, an acarpellous flower cannot produce seeds because it does not have carpels.
Many species exhibit acarpellous characteristics.
In botany, an acarpellous flower cannot produce seeds because it does not have carpels.
Researchers studied the acarpellous plants to understand the evolutionary loss of certain flower structures.
The rare species was identified as acarpellous, meaning it lacked female reproductive organs.

Synonyms

acarpelous

vsacarpellous

Specialized

9.9

Flowers that have no female parts and do not make fruit

is the same in meaning but spelled with an extra letter

Antonyms

carpellate

Specialized

9.9

A flower that has the female parts that make seeds

Surface Forms

acarpellous positive

Morphology

acarpellous = carpellous (semi-transparent) = a + carpel + ous

The meaning is regularly 'without carpels' from 'carpellous', but the scientific privative prefix 'a-' is not highly accessible to general learners.

Etymology

The word acarpellous starts with a-, meaning 'without', joined to carpel, the female part of a flower. So, an acarpellous plant is one 'without' carpels, and it cannot make seeds in the usual way.