Dichogamous

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Describing a reproductive mechanism where the maturation of male and female gametes occurs at different times enables cross-fertilization in species
2. Referring to a biological trait where gametes of different sexes in an organism mature at various intervals to enhance genetic diversity
3. Pertaining to a reproductive strategy in which male and female gametes develop at distinct times to promote genetic variation within a population

Etymology: Dichogamous is a botanical coinage, built entirely from Greek parts rather than inherited from any older English word. Its first half comes from "dikhos," meaning "in two" or "apart," and its second half from "gamos," meaning "marriage" or, in biology, sexual union. The word describes flowers whose male and female parts mature at different times, so that the flower is functionally one sex first and then the other, a strategy that discourages self-pollination. The term was formed in the 19th century by botanists who needed a precise name for a pattern they were beginning to document systematically. Its near relative "protandrous" (male parts maturing first) and "protogynous" (female parts maturing first) are the two named forms of dichogamy, and these labels follow the same Greek pattern, with "protos" meaning "first," "andros" meaning "of a man," and "gynē" meaning "woman." The more general terms pair naturally with the Greek word for marriage, which shows how thoroughly 19th-century naturalists drew on classical roots to describe reproduction in plants.