distichous

American  

[dis-ti-kuhs] / ˈdɪs tɪ kəs /

adjective

1. Botany. arranged alternately in two vertical rows on opposite sides of an axis, as leaves.

2. Zoology. divided into two parts.

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distichous British  

/ ˈdɪstɪkəs /

adjective

1. (of leaves) arranged in two vertical rows on opposite sides of the stem

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Other Word Forms

• subdistichous
  adjective
• distichously
  adverb
• subdistichously
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of distichous

1745–55; < Latin distichus (< Greek dístichos (adj.); see distich), with -ous for Latin -us adj. suffix

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

distichous

Adj. bisected &c. v.; cloven, cleft; bipartite, biconjugate†, bicuspid, bifid; bifurcous†, bifurcate, bifurcated; distichous, dichotomous, furcular†; semi-, demi-, hemi†.

From Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases by Peter Mark Roget

The spikelets are very small, one-flowered, half immersed in the alternating distichous cavities of the rachis.

From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by K. Rangachari

Leaf-sheaths are compressed and distichous below, glabrous or sometimes with a few hairs close to the margin.

From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by K. Rangachari

But on the stem the cells are distichous and wide apart.

From Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commanded By the Late Captain Owen Stanley, R.N., F.R.S. Etc. During the Years 1846-1850. Including Discoveries and Surveys in New Guinea, the Louisiade Archipelago, Etc. to Which Is Added the Account of Mr. E.B. Kennedy's Expedition for the Exploration of the Cape York Peninsula. By John Macgillivray, F.R.G.S. Naturalist to the Expedition. — Volume 1 by John MacGillivray

Stems are numerous, stiff and erect, 1/2 to 3 feet in length, glabrous, covered below by brownish or whitish scale-leaves, and above with densely distichous leaves.

From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by K. Rangachari