Monopetalous

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having a corolla made up of one petal, or of petals joined together into a single structure
2. Describing a flower whose petals are fused into one piece so that they appear as a single unit
3. Characterized by a corolla formed from a single petal or from petals united into one body

Etymology: Monopetalous is a botanical term for a flower whose petals are fused into a single unit, as in the bell-shaped corolla of a foxglove or a morning glory. The word is built from two parts: the Greek prefix "mono-", meaning "one" or "single", and "petalous", a descriptive adjective from "petal". Together they describe a flower with one petal in the sense of one joined whole, rather than many separate ones. The word did not come straight from Greek. It follows the pattern of New Latin "monopetalus", a term coined by scientists who were naming the structure of flowers in the scholarly Latin of early modern botany. English botanists adopted the Latin coinage and anglicised it, so the word is a learned construction from classical building blocks rather than an ancient term. Its partner word, "polypetalous", which describes flowers with separate petals, was formed on the same model.

Synonyms: gamopetalous, sympetalous

Antonyms: polypetalous, dialypetalous