dehisce

American  

[dih-his] / dɪˈhɪs /

verb (used without object)

dehisced, dehiscing

1. to burst open, as capsules of plants; gape.

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dehisce British  

/ dɪˈhɪs /

verb

1. (intr) (of fruits, anthers, etc) to burst open spontaneously, releasing seeds, pollen, etc

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Etymology

Origin of dehisce

1650–60; < Latin dēhiscere to gape, part, equivalent to dē- de- + hiscere to gape, yawn ( hi ( āre ) to yawn + -scere inchoative suffix)

Example Sentences

The formation and growth of the asci and sporidia differ little from what we have described, and when mature the asci dehisce, and the sporidia alone are ejected from the ostiolum.

From Fungi: Their Nature and Uses by Cooke, M. C. (Mordecai Cubitt)

The ova and the spermatozoa dehisce into the body cavity and pass to the exterior through the nephridia.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 3 "Borgia, Lucrezia" to "Bradford, John" by Various

Canes long, few, reddish-brown, faint bloom; nodes enlarged, flattened; tendrils semi-continuous, bifid, dehisce early.

From Manual of American Grape-Growing by Hedrick, U. P.

Sporangia are produced in the Physomycetes usually on the tips or branches of delicate threads, and these when mature dehisce and set free the minute sporidia.

From Fungi: Their Nature and Uses by Cooke, M. C. (Mordecai Cubitt)

Mr. Blackley observed that the ripe anthers of rye did not dehisce whilst kept under a bell-glass in a damp atmosphere, whilst other anthers exposed to the same temperature in the open air dehisced freely.

From Effects of Cross and Self Fertilisation in the Vegetable Kingdom by Darwin, Charles