Having six complete sets of chromosomes in each cell, a condition that occurs in some plants and causes variations in size and characteristics.
From Greek 'hexa-' (six) + '-ploid' (from 'aploos', fold, referring to chromosome sets). This genetics term emerged in the 20th century as scientists developed chromosome-counting technology.
Wheat that we eat today is actually hexaploid—somewhere in agricultural history, wheat plants got an extra set of chromosome copies, which made them bigger and more productive, accidentally creating the super-wheat feeding billions of people.
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