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Glite Dictionary
monoecy

monoecy

9.9
A plant that has both male and female flowers
  • noun
  • /məˈniːsi/
  • Specialized
translation icon : monoecía
  • In plants like corn, monoecy allows for both male and female flowers to grow on the same individual.

Examples

  • There are two breeding systems (monoecy and dioecy), and coevolution with highly specific pollinators has led to considerable variation in floral traits (Herre 1989, Kjellberg et al. 2001).

    Academic text (2005)

  • In the genus Ficus, monoecy is ancestral.

    Academic text (2005)

  • The study showed that monoecy can enhance seed production by ensuring pollination occurs more frequently.

  • Understanding monoecy helps botanists determine how certain plant species reproduce and adapt to their environments.

Synonyms

hermaphroditism
vsmonoecy
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A living thing that has both male and female sex organs or traits

is specific to a single plant having both male and female flowers

Surface Forms

monoecy singular
monoecies plural

Morphology

monoecy = monoecious (opaque) = mono + ecious + y

The word is formed from the technical botanical adjective 'monoecious' plus the noun-forming suffix '-y', but the biological base is not transparent to an average learner.

Etymology

Monoecy comes from Greek parts mono- meaning 'one' and -oecy from oikos meaning 'house', so think 'one house'. That's why a monoecious plant has both male and female flowers on the same plant.