Hexagynia

/ˌhɛksəˈdʒɪniə/ noun

Definition

A botanical category or class of plants characterized by having six pistils or female reproductive organs.

Etymology

From Greek 'hex-' (six) and 'gynia' (pertaining to women/female organs), plus the Latin scientific suffix '-ia'. Part of the Linnaean plant classification system.

Kelly Says

Linnaeus created 24 such classes based on pistil and stamen counts—hexagynia was Class VI—which means a 1700s botanist could instantly categorize a plant just by counting flower parts, before we even knew about DNA.

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