zygomorphic

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zy·go·mor·phic

(zī′gə-môr′fĭk, zĭg′ə-) also zy·go·mor·phous (-fəs)

adj. Botany

Having bilateral symmetry, as the flowers of a pea plant.

zy′go·mor′phy n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

zygomorphic

(ˌzaɪɡəʊˈmɔːfɪk; ˌzɪɡ-) or

zygomorphous

adj

(Botany) (of a flower) capable of being cut in only one plane so that the two halves are mirror images. See also actinomorphic

ˌzygoˈmorphism, ˈzygoˌmorphy n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

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Adj.

zygomorphic - capable of division into symmetrical halves by only one longitudinal plane passing through the axis

bilaterally symmetrical, zygomorphous

biological science, biology - the science that studies living organisms

actinomorphic, actinomorphous - capable of division into symmetrical halves by any longitudinal plane passing through the axis

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References in periodicals archive ?

The corolla-lobes exhibit a little variation among themselves with respect to their shape and size, thereby imparting a slight zygomorphy to the floral symmetry.

Ecologia de la polinizacion de Clerodendrum indicum (Lamiaceae): primer informe de la polinizacion por engano imitando el estigma en una flor bisexual

Floral symmetry is an important trait both in taxonomy and in pollination systems, and normally zygomorphy is thought to be more specialized in pollination adaptations, since it restricts pollinator behaviors and can therefore increase pollination efficiency (Sargent, 2004; Gong & Huang, 2009).

Pollination syndromes of Chinese gesneriaceae: a comparative study between Hainan Island and neighboring regions

Zygomorphy (or when a flower can only be divided down the middle to make two equal mirror images) is thought to restrict the types of pollinators that can take nectar and pollen from the flower.

Darwin"""s """abominable mystery""" of flower biodiversity comes closer to resolution

Thus, bilateral symmetry (zygomorphy) becomes "monosymmetry," radial symmetry (actinomorphy) becomes "polysymmetry," and subtending bract becomes "pherophyll" (but when you look up pherophyll in the glossary, it says "see subtending bract").