cleistogamous

[klahy-stog-uh-muh s]

adjective Botany.

pertaining to or having pollination occurring in unopened flowers.

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. 2018

Examples from the Web for cleistogamous

Historical Examples of cleistogamous

The other species are all propagated by their cleistogamous flowers.
The Making of Species
Douglas Dewar
This has no scent, the capsule is roundish and hairy, and the cleistogamous flowers are abundant.
Field Book of Western Wild Flowers
Margaret Armstrong
Some of the plants with cleistogamous flowers might afford examples of such cases.
Darwin and Modern Science
A.C. Seward and Others
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
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 in Science

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.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.