circumscissile

American  

[sur-kuhm-sis-il] / ˌsɜr kəmˈsɪs ɪl /

adjective

Botany.

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

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circumscissile British  

/ ˌsɜːkəmˈsɪsaɪl /

adjective

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

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Etymology

Origin of circumscissile

First recorded in 1825–35; circum- + scissile

Example Sentences

Pod 3–5-celled, many-seeded, circumscissile, the upper part falling off as a lid.—Usually prostrate maritime herbs, with succulent stems, opposite leaves, and axillary or terminal flowers.

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

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

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

Sporangium at maturity dehiscent in a regular circumscissile manner, the apex falling away as a lid, leaving behind the more persistent cup-shaped portion.

From The Myxomycetes of the Miami Valley, Ohio by Morgan, A. P. (Andrew Price)

The peridium shows a tendency, often, to circumscissile dehiscence, and persists long after the contents have been dissipated, in this condition suggesting the name applied by Batsch, vesparium, wasp-nest.

From The North American Slime-Moulds A Descriptive List of All Species of Myxomycetes Hitherto Reported from the Continent of North America, with Notes on Some Extra-Limital Species by MacBride, Thomas H. (Thomas Huston)

In these the dehiscence extends all round, or is circumscissile.

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