carpel
noun/ˈkɑː(ɹ)pəl/
Etymology 1835, borrowed from French carpelle, from New Latin carpellum, a diminutive of Ancient Greek κᾰρπός (kărpós, “fruit”), from Proto-Indo-European *kerp- (“to pluck, harvest”).
1
Biology, Botany, Natural sciences A constituent part of a flower pistil: the female reproductive organs in a flower. A carpel is composed of an ovary, a style, and a stigma, although some flowers have carpels without a distinct style. In origin, carpels are leaves (megasporophylls) that have evolved to enclose the ovules. A pistil may be composed of a single carpel or of several carpels fused together.
- Synonyms
- carpophyll
- Derived terms
- acarpellous, carpellary, carpellate
- Related terms
- gynoecium