Word
acarpous
Phoneticsacar·pous
Definition
adj. describing a plant that does not produce seeds or fruit. It is the opposite of a plant that can reproduce sexually.
adj. unable to produce seeds or fruit; lacking the ability to reproduce sexually. Often used in botanical contexts to describe sterile or non-flowering plants.
Examples
“The acarpous plant cannot reproduce through seeds.”
“In some hybrid species, the female parent is acarpous, meaning it cannot produce viable seeds despite having flowers.”
“The study focused on acarpous specimens to understand how genetic mutations prevent the development of reproductive structures in certain rare orchid varieties.”
Examples
simple
“The acarpous plant cannot reproduce through seeds.”
contextual
“In some hybrid species, the female parent is acarpous, meaning it cannot produce viable seeds despite having flowers.”
complex
“The study focused on acarpous specimens to understand how genetic mutations prevent the development of reproductive structures in certain rare orchid varieties.”
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ἄκαρπος (ákarpos, “fruitless”), from privative ἀ- (a-) + καρπός (karpós, “fruit”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/acarpous