Anatropia

/ænəˈtroʊpiə/ noun

Definition

In botany, the condition of being anatropous; the inversion or turning back of an ovule during plant development.

Etymology

From Greek 'ana-' (back) + 'tropos' (turn) + '-ia' (condition). A technical botanical term for the orientation state of ovules.

Kelly Says

Anatropia is one of plant biology's elegant solutions to the packaging problem—botanists can classify different plant species partly by whether their seeds are turned, twisted, or straight, which tells us about their evolutionary family trees!

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