The process by which seeds or fruits continue to mature and develop even after being harvested or removed from the plant.
Compound of 'after' and 'ripening' (Old English ripan, from Germanic roots). Farmers and botanists developed this term to describe post-harvest maturation.
Afterripening is why you can pick a hard green banana and it will perfectly ripen on your counter—the fruit keeps using stored energy to complete its biological programming even after being separated from the tree.
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