Anthesis - Definition, Usage & Quiz
Definition and expanded description.
Anthesis refers to the period during which a flower is fully open and functional, typically emphasizing the reproductive phase. This is a crucial stage in the life cycle of flowering plants because it represents the point at which pollination occurs.
The term “anthesis” originates from the Greek word “anthesis,” which means “flowering” or “blooming.”
Usage Notes
- It is widely used in the fields of botany, plant biology, and horticulture.
- Anthesis typically coincides with the time when the floral organs are most receptive to pollen.
- Senescence (the process of aging and eventual death of a plant)
- Dormancy (a period of suspended growth and development)
Related Terms
- Pollination : The transfer of pollen from the male part to the female part of the flower.
- Inflorescence : A group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem.
- Floral Induction : The process by which a plant is triggered to switch from vegetative to reproductive development.
Interesting Facts
- The timing of anthesis can be a critical factor for successful crop production and can vary widely among species.
- In some plants, anthesis occurs in a staggered manner within an inflorescence, which can optimize pollination efficiency.
- “The anthesis of each flower marks a pivotal moment in the reproductive cycle, setting the stage for the intricate dance of pollination.” - Anonymous Botanist
Usage Paragraph
In the study of Rosa spp. , researchers observed that anthesis occurs early in the morning, aligning precisely with the peak activity period of their primary pollinators, bees. During this phase, the petals unfurl completely, and the reproductive organs, including the stamens and pistils, are fully exposed. It’s critical to monitor the anthesis phase closely, as it directly impacts the plant’s pollination success and subsequent fruit development.
Suggested Literature
- “Plant Physiology” by Lincoln Taiz and Eduardo Zeiger
- “The Botany of Flowering Plants” by Paul Chomik
- “Floral Biology – Studies on Floral Evolution in Animal-pollinated Plants” by David G. Lloyd and Spencer C.H. Barrett
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anthesis noun
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Earlier version
- anthesis in OED Second Edition (1989)
What does the noun anthesis mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun anthesis . See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.
How common is the noun anthesis ?
How is the noun anthesis pronounced, british english, u.s. english, where does the noun anthesis come from.
Earliest known use
The earliest known use of the noun anthesis is in the late 1700s.
OED's earliest evidence for anthesis is from 1783, in C. Linnaeus' Syst. Veg.
anthesis is a borrowing from Latin .
Etymons: Latin anthesis .
Nearby entries
- antheridium, n. 1818–
- antheriferous, adj. 1799–
- antheriform, adj. 1802–
- antherine, n. 1689–
- antherless, adj. 1798–
- antherogenous, adj. 1847
- antheroid, adj. 1818–
- antherozoid, n. 1853–
- antherozoidal, adj. 1865–
- anther valve, n. 1839–
- anthesis, n. 1783–
- anthias, n. 1601–
- anthill, n. Old English–
- ant-hillock, n. 1656–
- ant-hilly, adj. 1796–
- anthine, n. & adj. 1601–1768
- ant-hive, n. 1817–
- antho-, comb. form
- anthobian, n. & adj. 1835–
- anthocarpous, adj. 1835–
- anthocephalous, adj. 1847
Meaning & use
The Anthesis [Latin Anthesis ] takes place, when the burnt Anthers scatter their bags of Dust upon the Stigma.
Bractea of the female flowers very much enlarged after anthesis , when the spike presents the appearance of a pine-apple; bright yellow, with red apices.
The term anthesis is sometimes used to indicate the period at which the flower-bud opens.
There were both delayed and extended antheses and most of the time the flowers were semi-open.
Histologically the ovary and style are relatively simple at anthesis .
From the time of anthesis , when the floral parts open to receive pollen, the developing grain becomes the dominant sink.
A later planting date reduced pre-anthesis moisture stress by reducing the number of days..for the crop to reach anthesis .
- efflorescence 1626– The process of producing flowers, or bursting into flower; the period of flowering.
- blow 1748– Manner, style, or time of blossoming. Also figurative .
- anthesis 1783– The stage at which a flower is open, allowing fertilization to occur. Also: an instance of this.
- florescence 1793– The process of producing flowers or bursting into flower; the period or state of flowering. Also concrete . Flowers collectively.
Pronunciation
Plural: antheses.
- ð th ee
- ɬ rhingy ll
Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence <petal> /ˈpɛtl/ but <petally> /ˈpɛtl̩i/.
- a trap, bath
- ɑː start, palm, bath
- ɔː thought, force
- ᵻ (/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ (/ʊ/-/ə/)
Other symbols
- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.
View the pronunciation model here .
* /d/ also represents a 'tapped' /t/ as in <bitter>
Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence <petal> /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but <petally> /ˈpɛdl̩i/.
- i fleece, happ y
- æ trap, bath
- ɑ lot, palm, cloth, thought
- ɔ cloth, thought
- ɔr north, force
- ə strut, comm a
- ər nurse, lett er
- ɛ(ə)r square
- æ̃ sal on
Simple Text Respell
Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.
b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values
- arr carry (British only)
- a(ng) gratin
- o lot (British only)
- orr sorry (British only)
- o(ng) salon
Inflections
anthesis typically occurs about 0.2 times per million words in modern written English.
anthesis is in frequency band 4, which contains words occurring between 0.1 and 1 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands
Frequency of anthesis, n. , 1810–2010
* Occurrences per million words in written English
Historical frequency series are derived from Google Books Ngrams (version 2), a data set based on the Google Books corpus of several million books printed in English between 1500 and 2010.
The overall frequency for a given word is calculated by summing frequencies for the main form of the word, any plural or inflected forms, and any major spelling variations.
For sets of homographs (distinct entries that share the same word-form, e.g. mole , n.¹, mole , n.², mole , n.³, etc.), we have estimated the frequency of each homograph entry as a fraction of the total Ngrams frequency for the word-form. This may result in inaccuracies.
Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the Google Books corpus.
Frequency of anthesis, n. , 2017–2023
Modern frequency series are derived from a corpus of 20 billion words, covering the period from 2017 to the present. The corpus is mainly compiled from online news sources, and covers all major varieties of World English.
Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the corpus.
Compounds & derived words
- synanthesis , n. 1880– Simultaneous ripening of the stamens and pistils in a flower.
Entry history for anthesis, n.
anthesis, n. was revised in March 2016.
anthesis, n. was last modified in July 2023.
oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:
- further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
- new senses, phrases, and quotations.
Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into anthesis, n. in July 2023.
Earlier versions of this entry were published in:
OED First Edition (1885)
- Find out more
OED Second Edition (1989)
- View anthesis in OED Second Edition
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Citation details
Factsheet for anthesis, n., browse entry.