self-incompatible

American  

[self-in-kuhm-pat-uh-buhl] / ˌsɛlf ɪn kəmˈpæt ə bəl /

adjective

Botany.

1. (of a plant species or cultivar) unable to be fertilized by its own pollen.

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self-incompatible British  

adjective

1. (of a plant) incapable of self-fertilization because its own pollen is prevented from germinating on the stigma or the pollen tube is blocked before it reaches the egg cell

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Other Word Forms

• self-incompatibility
  noun

Etymology

Origin of self-incompatible

First recorded in 1915–20; self- ( def. ) + incompatible ( def. )

Example Sentences

Tristan Shaw pointed at a young pawpaw, a species that is self-incompatible and cannot use pollen produced on a given tree to pollinate flowers of the same plant.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 29, 2023

The majority of cacao trees are what are known as self-incompatible, meaning they cannot pollinate themselves.

From Scientific American • Feb. 14, 2023

White mustard is "self-incompatible", meaning that an individual plant cannot pollinate itself.

From BBC • Sep. 2, 2012

The former plants are termed self-incompatible hermaphrodites; the latter, dioecious species.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

The term, "self-sterile" is often used, but I think it is a little more exact to say self-unfruitful or self-incompatible.

From Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the 43rd Annual Meeting Rockport, Indiana, August 25, 26 and 27, 1952 by Northern Nut Growers Association