(of a plant) producing flowers and fruit only once before dying
2.
(of an animal) producing offspring only once during its lifetime
Derived forms
semelparity (ˈsemelˌparity)
noun
Examples of 'semelparous' in a sentence
semelparous
Semelparous organisms have a simple life cycle characterized by immediate death after reproduction.
James W Vaupel, Trifon I Missov, C Jessica E Metcalf 2013, 'Optimal semelparity.', PLoS ONEhttp://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3576355?pdf=render. Retrieved from PLOS CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)
Bamboos are typical examples of highly synchronized semelparous species.
Inoue Mizuki, Ayaka Sato, Ayumi Matsuo, Yoshihisa Suyama, Jun-Ichirou Suzuki, AkifumiMakita 2014, 'Clonal Structure, Seed Set, and Self-Pollination Rate in Mass-Flowering Bamboo Speciesduring Off-Year Flowering Events', PLoS ONE10.1371/journal.pone.0105051. Retrieved from PLOS CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)
Unlike almost all other mammals, all males, and in the smaller species, most females are semelparous.
Diana O Fisher, Simon P Blomberg 2011, 'Costs of reproduction and terminal investment by females in a semelparous marsupial.',PLoS ONEhttp://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3020937?pdf=render. Retrieved from PLOS CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)