A reproductive strategy in plants where pollen from one flower pollinates another flower on the same plant, rather than being fertilized by pollen from a different plant.
From Greek 'geiton' (neighbor) + 'gamos' (marriage). The term emerged in botanical literature in the late 1800s to distinguish this intermediate reproductive mode from pure self-fertilization and true cross-pollination.
This is nature's compromise strategy—it's safer than pure self-pollination because genes mix slightly, but it's less adventurous than true cross-pollination, making it the botanical equivalent of playing it safe.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.