circumscissile

[sur-kuhm-sis-il]

adjective

Botany.

1. opening along a transverse circular line, as a seed vessel.

circumscissile

/ ˌsɜːkəmˈsɪsaɪl /

adjective

1. (of the dry dehiscent fruits of certain plants) opening completely by a transverse split

Word History and Origins

Origin of circumscissile¹

First recorded in 1825–35; circum- + scissile

Word History and Origins

Origin of circumscissile¹

C19: from _circum- + Latin scissilis capable of splitting, from scindere to split

Example Sentences

Leaves as in the last, but paler and thinner; spikes long and thin, attenuate at the apex; sepals oblong, acutely carinate; capsules cylindraceous-oblong, circumscissile much below the middle, 4–9-seeded; seeds oval-oblong, not reticulated.

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Capsule nearly sessile, irregularly circumscissile.

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Capsule filling the involucre, circumscissile in the middle, the calyptra persistent at its base.

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Smooth or rather hairy, rarely roughish; leaves ovate, oblong, oval, or slightly heart-shaped, often toothed, abruptly narrowed into a channelled petiole; spike dense, obtuse; sepals round-ovate or obovate; capsule ovoid, circumscissile near the middle, 8–18-seeded; seeds angled, reticulated.—Waysides and near dwellings everywhere.

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Fruit a circumscissile 2-celled capsule, with one or more peltate seeds in each cell, or an achene.

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