self-sterile

A bee pollinates a self-sterile apple blossom.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Incapable of self-fertilization: "self-sterile" describes an organism, particularly a plant, that cannot be fertilized by its own pollen or gametes. It requires pollen or genetic material from another individual of the same species to reproduce.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Many fruit trees, such as certain apple varieties, are self-sterile and need a different cultivar nearby for pollination. (The tree cannot produce fruit using its own pollen.)
  • The biologist noted that the flower was self-sterile, so cross-pollination was essential for seed production. (The flower cannot fertilize itself.)

Advanced Usage

• "self-sterile hybrid": a hybrid organism that is unable to produce offspring through self-fertilization, often due to genetic incompatibility.
  • The self-sterile hybrid orchid required careful manual cross-pollination to bloom. (The hybrid could not reproduce on its own.)

Variants and Related Words

• Self-sterility (noun): the state or condition of being self-sterile.
  • The self-sterility of the plant was a challenge for the gardener. (The inability to self-fertilize created difficulty.)
• Self-fertile (adj): capable of self-fertilization; the opposite of self-sterile.
  • Unlike self-sterile varieties, this tomato plant is self-fertile and produces fruit without cross-pollination. (It can fertilize itself.)

Synonyms

• Self-incompatible: unable to be fertilized by one's own pollen (a more technical term in botany).
• Allogamous: requiring cross-fertilization from another individual.

Related Idioms

• (No common idioms exist for "self-sterile"; it is primarily a technical term in biology.)