Definition of agamospermy in English:
agamospermy
noun ˈaɡəmə(ʊ)ˌspəːmiˈaɡəmō-
mass nounBotany Asexual reproduction in which seeds are produced from unfertilized ovules.
Example sentencesExamples
- Asexual seed production, agamospermy, occurs in >40 flowering plant families but is most prevalent in the grasses, Asteraceae, and Rosaceae.
- Within the genera that develop bisexual flowers, agamospermy appears to be present in Sarcandra chloranthoides as well as Chloranthus serratus and C. fortunei.
- None of these species set seed through agamospermy or autonomous self-pollination; therefore they depend entirely on pollinating agents for their reproduction.
- Seeds are not produced without fertilization (absence of agamospermy).
- Both species use a mixed breeding system, consisting of xenogamy, geitonogamy, and autogamy; agamospermy is unimportant.
- In the bagged experiment, fruitlet formation was never observed, suggesting that no agamospermy takes place, and that pollination is critical for fruit set.
Derivatives
adjective
Botany The ability of plants to produce asexual seed has been known since the middle of the 19th century and the principal alternative developmental pathways by which agamospermous seed is produced have been well characterized.
Example sentencesExamples
- Plants of A. laevigata at Scott's Grove are not agamospermous; seeds are sexually produced.
- Arabis laevigata is capable of both self- and cross-fertilization and is not agamospermous.
- Even though six species show a certain degree of self-compatibility, four of them present a form of late-acting self-incompatibility, and the individual of B. pubipetala is agamospermous.
Origin
1930s: from Greek agamos 'unmarried' + sperma 'seed'.