protandrous

British  

/ prəʊˈtændrəs /

adjective

1. (of hermaphrodite or monoecious plants) maturing the anthers before the stigma

2. (of hermaphrodite animals) producing male gametes before female gametes Compare protogynous

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Other Word Forms

• protandry noun

Example Sentences

Scientifically named Clione limacina, they are protandrous hermaphrodites, which means they are both male and female during their life cycles, according to Semenov.

From National Geographic

Shipworms reproduce in all kinds of ways. Teredo navalis, the naval shipworm, is a protandrous hermaphrodite: it starts out male and turns female.

From The New Yorker

“The majority of tongue-biting isopods are protandrous hermaphrodites,” says Denham Parker of Rhodes University in South Africa, via email.

From National Geographic

Scientists call it protandrous — that is, a male-first hermaphrodite — a phenomenon also seen in certain worms, limpets and butterflies.

From New York Times

The larger-flowered species of Geranium are markedly protandrous, the outer stamens, inner stamens and stigmas becoming functional in succession.

From Project Gutenberg