Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
amphistomatic

amphistomatic

9.9
Having tiny holes on both the top and bottom of a leaf that let air pass
  • adjective
  • /ˌæmfɪstəˈmætɪk/
  • Specialized
: amfistomático
  • The amphistomatic design of the leaf allows it to take in carbon dioxide from both sides, maximizing photosynthesis.

Examples

  • But despite its structure (i.e., amphistomatic leaves and high A mes/A ratio), which could enable reasonably high P max, creosote bush typically photosynthesizes at one-fourth that rate during drought (Sharifi et al. 1997).

    Academic text (1998)

  • Some species, such as certain ferns, exhibit amphistomatic leaves that improve their resilience to varying light conditions.

  • Many plants in arid environments develop amphistomatic leaves to efficiently manage gas exchange.

Surface Forms

amphistomatic positive

Morphology

amphistomatic = stomatic (semi-transparent) = amphi + stomat + ic

The prefix 'amphi-' indicates 'both' or 'on both sides', and 'stomatic' relates to stomata, but the specific botanical context may not be immediately clear to all learners.

Etymology

Amphistomatic comes from the Greek parts amphi- ('both') and stoma ('mouth' or 'opening'), a bit like the word amphibian where amphi- means 'both'. So an amphistomatic leaf has small openings called stomata on 'both' the top and the bottom of the leaf.