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.

---

distichous British  

/ ˈdɪstɪkəs /

adjective

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

---

Other Word Forms

• distichously adverb
• subdistichous adjective
• subdistichously adverb

Etymology

Origin of distichous

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

Example Sentences

The leaf-blade is flat, linear, distichous, coriaceous, rounded at the tip, margins sparsely ciliate, 1 to 2-1/2 inches long.

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

In some the general hue is orange brown with obscure annuli; the arrangement of the hair is distichous or in two rows.

From Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon by Sterndale, Robert Armitage

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 MacGillivray, John

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 Rangachari, K.

The leaf-sheaths are distichous and towards the base of the stem are 1/2 inch broad, compressed, keeled and with scattered tubercle-based hairs.

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