caryopsis

[ kar-ee-op-sis ]

noun

, Botany.

, plural car·y·op·ses [kar-ee-, op, -seez] car·y·op·si·des [kar-ee-, op, -si-deez].

1. a small, one-celled, one-seeded, dry indehiscent fruit with the pericarp adherent to the seed coat, the typical fruit of grasses and grains.

caryopsis

/ ˌkærɪˈɒpsɪs /

noun

1. a dry seedlike fruit having the pericarp fused to the seed coat of the single seed: produced by the grasses

caryopsis

/ kăr′ē-ŏp′sĭs /

, Plural caryopses kăr′ē-ŏp′sēz′

1. A small, dry, one-seeded fruit of a cereal grass, having the fruit and the seed walls united.
2. Also called grain

Word History and Origins

Origin of caryopsis¹

First recorded in 1820–30; cary(o)- + -opsis

Word History and Origins

Origin of caryopsis¹

C19: New Latin; see karyo- , -opsis

Example Sentences

Fruit oval, flat, with the outer face rather convex and the inner concave, sharp-margined, a caryopsis, i.e. the thin pericarp adherent to the vertical seed.

From Project Gutenberg

Such a fruit is termed a caryopsis or grain.

From Project Gutenberg

The caryopsis consists of an embryo on one side at the base and the endosperm occupies the remaining portion.

From Project Gutenberg

As an illustration of the caryopsis, the grain of Andropogon Sorghum may be studied.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• kernel