carpel

views updated May 14 2018

carpel The female reproductive organ of a flower. Typically it consists of a stigma, style, and ovary. It is thought to have evolved by the fusion of the two edges of a flattened megasporophyll (see sporophyll). Each flower may have one carpel (monocarpellary) or many (polycarpellary), either free (apocarpous) or fused together (syncarpous). See also pistil.

carpel

views updated May 23 2018

car·pel / ˈkärpəl/ • n. Bot. the female reproductive organ of a flower, consisting of an ovary, a stigma, and usually a style. It may occur singly or as one of a group.DERIVATIVES: car·pel·lar·y / -ˌlerē/ adj.

carpel

views updated May 18 2018

carpel One of the female reproductive organs of the flower, i.e. a unit of the gynoecium, comprising an ovary (containing 1 to many ovules borne on a placenta) and with a usually terminal style tipped by the stigma.

carpel

views updated May 23 2018

carpel Female reproductive part of a flowering plant. A carpel consists of a stigma, a style and an ovary. A group of carpels make up the gynoecium, the complete female reproductive structure within a flower.

carpel

views updated Jun 27 2018

carpel (bot.) division of a compound pistil or fruit. XIX. — F. carpelle or modL. carpellum, f. Gr. karpós fruit (cf. HARVEST); see -EL 2.