cleistogamous

[ klahy-stog-uh-muh s ]

/ klaɪˈstɒg ə məs /

adjective Botany.

pertaining to or having pollination occurring in unopened flowers.

Nearby words

Also cleis·to·gam·ic

[klahy-stuh-gam-ik] /ˌklaɪ stəˈgæm ɪk/.

Compare chasmogamous.

Origin of cleistogamous

First recorded in 1880–85; cleisto- + -gamous

Related formscleis·tog·a·mous·ly, cleis·to·gam·i·cal·ly, adverbcleis·tog·a·my, nounnon·cleis·to·gam·ic, adjectivenon·cleis·tog·a·mous, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cleistogamous

His view that cleistogamous flowers are derived from originally chasmogamous flowers has been confirmed by more recent researches.
Darwin and Modern Science|A.C. Seward and Others
This has no scent, the capsule is roundish and hairy, and the cleistogamous flowers are abundant.
Field Book of Western Wild Flowers|Margaret Armstrong
The cleistogamous, and not the brilliant flowers: the victory is with ugliness, and not with beauty.
The Contemporary Review, Volume 36, December 1879|Various
Cleistogamous Flowers, that is, in those which are fertilized in the flower-bud, while still unopened.
The Elements of Botany|Asa Gray

The other species are all propagated by their cleistogamous flowers.
The Making of Species|Douglas Dewar

Science definitions for cleistogamous

cleistogamous

[ klī-stŏg′ə-məs ]

Of or relating to a flower that does not open and is self-pollinated in the bud. The fertile flowers of the violet are inconspicuous and cleistogamous, while the plant's more familiar showy flowers are usually infertile.