Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Pollinated by the wind: Describes a plant, especially a flowering plant like a grass, whose pollen is carried and transferred by the wind rather than by insects, birds, or other animals.

Usage

• This is a scientific term used primarily in botany, ecology, and biology to describe a method of pollination.
• It is typically used attributively (before a noun) to describe the plant species.
• Example: "Pine trees are anemophilous; they release large amounts of pollen into the air."

Examples

• Adjective:
  • Most grasses are anemophilous, which is why they produce so much pollen in the spring.
  • The anemophilous nature of oak trees contributes to seasonal allergies.
  • Botanists study anemophilous plants to understand wind patterns and plant reproduction.

Advanced Usage

• Contrast with Entomophilous: The term is often used in contrast to "entomophilous," which means pollinated by insects.
  • Example: "Unlike anemophilous grasses, apple trees are primarily entomophilous, relying on bees."

Variants and Related Words

• Anemophily (noun): The process or condition of being wind-pollinated.
  • Example: "Anemophily is a common reproductive strategy in temperate forest trees."

Synonyms

• Wind-pollinated: The more common, non-technical synonym.
  • Example: "Corn is a wind-pollinated crop."

Antonyms

• Entomophilous: Insect-pollinated.
• Zoophilous: Animal-pollinated.
• Ornithophilous: Bird-pollinated.

Adjective

1. of flowering plants (especially grasses etc) that are pollinated by the wind