Dioecy
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It has been suggested that this article be merged into Plant reproductive morphology. (Discuss) Proposed since September 2012. |
Dioecy (Greek: "two households"; adjective form: dioecious) is characterised by a species having distinct male and female organisms.[1] This is opposed to hermaphroditic species, or more correctly, monoecious species, in which on one individual both male and female reproductive organs are present. Dioecious reproduction is biparental reproduction. The term dioecy is generally used for plants; gonochory is a synonym of dioecy that is generally used in reference to animals.
The terms "dioecy" and "monoecy" are often used instead of the corresponding terms for gametophytes, i.e., to mean "dioicous" and "monoicous" respectively.[2]
The majority of animal species are dioecious (gonochorous).[3]
The majority of plant species are not fully dioecious.[4] They may instead have only bisexual flowers, or they possess some mixture of male, female, and bisexual flowers on at least some individual plants. Still, a significant number of plant species (6% estimated by Renner and Ricklefs[4]) are fully dioecious.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ K. S. Bawa (1980). "Evolution of Dioecy in Flowering Plants". Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 11: 15–39.
- ^ Stearn, W.T. (1992). Botanical Latin: History, grammar, syntax, terminology and vocabulary, Fourth edition. David and Charles.
- ^ David, J.R. (2001). "Evolution and development: some insights from evolutionary theory". Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 73 (3): 385–395.
- ^ a b Renner, S. S., and R. E. Ricklefs (1995). "Dioecy and its correlates in the flowering plants". American Journal of Botany 82: 596–606.
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