dioecious

/dai'i:ʃəs/

Thân thiện

Some plants are dioecious, meaning individual plants are either male or female.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Having male and female reproductive organs on separate individual organisms: In biology, "dioecious" describes a species where individual organisms are distinctly either male or female. A single plant or animal possesses reproductive organs of only one sex.

Usage

• The term is primarily used in biological and botanical contexts to describe the sexual reproduction system of a species.
• It is the opposite of "monoecious," where a single individual has both male and female reproductive organs.
• It applies to both plants and animals.

Examples

• In Botany:
  • Holly trees are dioecious; you need both a male and a female tree planted near each other to get berries.
  • The farmer had to ensure he had both male and female kiwi vines because they are a dioecious species.
• In Zoology:
  • Most bird species are not dioecious; they have individuals that are either male or female. (This is a general statement about sexual separation, which is the norm for birds, making them dioecious by definition.)

Advanced Usage

• Evolutionary Biology: The dioecious condition is studied in relation to plant breeding systems, genetic diversity, and evolutionary strategies.
  • The evolution of dioecy in plants is often linked to mechanisms that prevent self-fertilization.
• Horticulture and Agriculture: Knowledge of whether a crop is dioecious is crucial for cultivation and fruit production.
  • For dioecious crops like asparagus, only the female plants produce the edible spears, but male plants are often preferred for higher yield.

Variants and Related Words

• Dioecy (n): The state or condition of being dioecious.
  • Dioecy is less common in flowering plants than hermaphroditism.
• Monoecious (adj): Having both male and female reproductive organs on the same individual.
  • Corn plants are monoecious, with separate male (tassel) and female (ear) flowers on the same stalk.

Synonyms

• Gonochoristic: A synonymous term used primarily in zoology for animals having separate sexes.
  • Mammals are gonochoristic organisms.

Antonyms

• Monoecious: (For plants) Having both sexes on the same individual.
• Hermaphroditic: (For animals and some plants) Having both male and female reproductive organs in a single individual.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. having male and female reproductive organs in separate plants or animals

Từ đồng nghĩa

• dioecian