A reproductive system found in certain flowering plants where different individuals have styles (female parts) of different lengths, promoting cross-pollination.
From Greek 'hetero-' (different) and 'stylos' (style). Darwin studied this phenomenon extensively and named it in the mid-1800s, recognizing it as a sophisticated reproductive strategy.
Darwin was so captivated by heterostyly that he called it 'legitimate' and 'illegitimate' fertilization—when the pollen and style match in length, the plant is 'happy,' but mismatched pollinations were far less successful. He saw it as Nature's clever lock-and-key system preventing self-fertilization.
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