pistil

American  

[pis-tl] / ˈpɪs tl /

noun

Botany.

pistils plural

1. the ovule-bearing or seed-bearing female organ of a flower, consisting when complete of ovary, style, and stigma.

2. such organs collectively, where there are more than one in a flower.

3. a gynoecium.

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pistil British  

/ ˈpɪstɪl /

noun

1. the female reproductive part of a flower, consisting of one or more separate or fused carpels; gynoecium

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pistil Scientific  

/ pĭs′təl /

1. One of the female reproductive organs of a flower, consisting of a single carpel or of several carpels fused together. A flower may have one pistil or more than one, though some flowers lack pistils and bear only the male reproductive organs known as stamens.

2. See more at carpel flower

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pistil Cultural  

1. The female part of a plant. In flowering plants, it is at the center of the flower. When fertilized with pollen, the pistil develops into fruit.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pistils
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pistil

1570–80; earlier pistillum, special use of Latin pistillum pestle

Compare meaning

How does pistil compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• pistil vs. carpel

Explanation

The part of a flower that eventually develops into seeds or fruit is called a pistil. The pistils are at the very center of the blossom, surrounded by petals. A pistil is made up of a flower's female organs — the ovary, the long, stem-like style, and the sticky stigma, which receives pollen. These flower parts play a vital role in reproduction, sticking out so that bees and other pollinating insects can easily brush against them. The transfer of pollen fertilizes the seeds in the ovaries. Pistil gets its name from its stick-like resemblance to a pestle.

Example Sentences

Pistil solitary, sometimes 2–3, sessile; seeds smooth, flattened and packed horizontally in the pod in two rows, as in Actæa; stigma broad and flat.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa

A. Pistil of flowering raspberry; e, ovary; t, style; s, stigma.

From The First Book of Farming by Goodrich, Charles Landon

Pistil of a Saxifrage, of two simple carpels or pistil-leaves, united at the base only, cut across both above and below.

From The Elements of Botany For Beginners and For Schools by Gray, Asa

Pistil much longer than stamens, stigma rougher, POLLEN-GRAINS SMALLER,—throat of corolla long.

From Life and Letters of Charles Darwin — Volume 2 by Darwin, Francis, Sir

Pistil, or Pistillum, is that part of a flower which projects directly from the centre, and is longer than the rest; we observe it in the white lily, fuchsia, honeysuckle, etc.

From The Royal Guide to Wax Flower Modelling by Peachey, Emma