hypocotyl

American  

[hahy-puh-kot-l] / ˌhaɪ pəˈkɒt l /

noun

Botany.

1. the part of a plant embryo directly below the cotyledons, forming a connection with the radicle.

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hypocotyl British  

/ ˌhaɪpəˈkɒtɪl /

noun

1. the part of an embryo plant between the cotyledons and the radicle

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hypocotyl Scientific  

/ hī′pə-kŏt′l /

1. The part of a plant embryo or seedling that lies between the radicle and the cotyledons. Upon germination, the hypocotyl pushes the cotyledons above the ground to develop. It eventually becomes part of the plant stem. Most seed-bearing plants have hypocotyls, but the grasses have different, specialized structures.

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Other Word Forms

• hypocotylous
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of hypocotyl

First recorded in 1875–80; hypo- + cotyl(edon)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hypocotyl

Botanists have discovered that money is not only the root of all evil, but also its hypocotyl, petiole and axillary bud.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 17, 2022

That an arched hypocotyl or epicotyl, with the two legs fixed in the ground, should be able to circumnutate, seemed to us, until we had read Prof. Wiesner's observations, an inexplicable fact.

From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles

Nevertheless, the cotyledons have little or no power of bending towards a lateral light, although the hypocotyl is strongly heliotropic.

From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles

The oscillatory and jerking movements of the leaves of Dionaea, which resemble those of the hypocotyl of the cabbage, are highly remarkable, as seen under the microscope.

From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles

The four corners at the center of the cut top then are turned slightly upward, to allow a small opening through which the hypocotyl of the developing seedling can emerge.

From Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the Thirty-Seventh Annual Report Wooster, Ohio, September 3, 4, 5, 1946 by Northern Nut Growers Association