androecious
|an-dro-e-cious|
🇺🇸
/ˌæn.drəˈiː.ʃəs/
🇬🇧
/ˌæn.drəʊˈiː.ʃəs/
male-only (flowers)
Etymology
'androecious' originates from New Latin 'androecius', ultimately from Greek where 'andr-' or 'andros' meant 'man, male' and 'oikos' meant 'house' (used in botanical compounds to denote 'part' or 'house' of reproductive organs), combined with the English adjectival suffix '-ous'.
'androecious' was formed in botanical New Latin as 'androecius' from Greek elements 'andr-' + 'oikos' and was adopted into English botanical usage in the 19th century; the Modern English adjective 'androecious' developed from these Latinized/Greekized components.
Initially it referred to the 'male house' or male portion of a plant (literally 'male house'), and this sense has been retained in modern botanical usage as 'having only male (staminate) flowers'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the condition or state of being androecious; the presence of only male flowers on a plant or in a population.
Androeciousness in that population was noted during the flowering season.
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Adjective 1
having only male (staminate) flowers; bearing male reproductive organs only (used in botany).
In that species some populations are androecious, with individuals producing only staminate flowers.
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Last updated: 2025/10/10 15:27