In botany, describing an ovule that is completely inverted so that the embryo sac is turned back against the stalk that attaches it to the ovary.
From Greek 'ana-' (back, against) + 'tropos' (turn), literally meaning 'turned back.' A standard botanical classification term established in the 18th century.
Most flowering plants we eat—beans, apples, peppers—have anatropous ovules, making this one of the most common yet invisible structures in nature. Every time you eat a seed, you're experiencing the results of this inversion!
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