Meaning & use
sympodial
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Meaning
adjectivebefore a nountechnical
Describing a plant that grows by having its main growing tip end and a side shoot take over, repeatedly, so the stem is built from linked sections.
Grammar: Usually placed before words like growth, branching, or orchid: sympodial growth.
Patterns
- sympodial growth
- sympodial branching
Many orchids show sympodial growth, with each new shoot starting from the base of the last.
The sympodial stem of the lilac zigzags slightly because a side bud takes over each year.
Botany students sketched the sympodial branching pattern of the willow twig.
Common combinations
- sympodial growth
- Sympodial growth explains why the plant spreads sideways instead of climbing.
- sympodial branching
- Sympodial branching gives the tree its irregular outline.
- sympodial orchid
- A sympodial orchid grows new pseudobulbs next to the old ones.
- sympodial stem
- The sympodial stem is made of many short sections joined end to end.
Synonyms and how they differ
Opposites
Word family
- sympodium noun
- the stem made up of linked side shoots in this growth pattern
- sympodially adverb
- in a sympodial manner
- monopodial adjective
- growing from one continuous main axis
Commonly confused: sympodial or monopodial? sympodial or sympatric?
sympodial vs monopodial
Monopodial is the opposite: one main stem keeps growing from its tip, as in a pine or palm.
sympodial vs sympatric
Sympatric is an unrelated biology word meaning living in the same area, though it looks and sounds similar.
Practice
A botanist notes that an orchid has sympodial growth. What is she describing?
Choose one answer.
Sympodial growth means the main tip ends and a side shoot continues the growth. The first option describes monopodial growth, the tempting opposite.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sympodial”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.