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

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Etymology

Origin of pistil

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

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Compare meaning

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

• pistil vs. carpel

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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

See Examples For:

pistil pistils

The study described how a plant's floral tubes produce volatile compounds to sterilize their stigma, the part of the pistil that collects pollen, to protect against attack by pathogens.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 21, 2024

There were several Blooms; or perhaps we should think of a pistil and its petals.

From The New Yorker ● Oct. 16, 2019

I left the stamens and pistil neatly bundled inside and inserted matchstick-like pieces of sharp cheddar.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 29, 2017

As illustrated in Figure 14.25, the stigma, style, and ovary constitute the female organ, the carpel or pistil, which is also referred to as the gynoecium.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 25, 2013

Suddenly, the world opened up for her like one of her imperial tulips and revealed its evil yellow pistil.

From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison

When WUS-D1 is turned on early in the formation of wheat flowers, it enlarges the developing floral tissue, allowing extra female structures such as pistils or ovaries to form.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2025

Watch to see whether the pistils begin to turn red and the leaves start to change colors.

From Washington Post ● May 11, 2022

The white petals of the flower curl around the tightly bunched cluster of pistils at the center, reaching to all four edges of the print.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2022

But they also differ from plants in significant ways — notably fungi reproduce via spores rather than with flowers and seeds and lack basic structures that plants have, including stamens and pistils.

From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2021

The lecture on pistils and stamens turns into a big Fla-ha.

From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson

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