#dioecious

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Thursday 29 January 2026

The palm species Chamaerops humilis (dwarf fan palm, African hair palm, European fan palm, Mediterranean Fan Palm) is hardy in southern Britain and in sheltered locations with a free-draining soil. It is primarily a dioecious species (separate male and female plants) and here the female plant was producing a display of fruit.

Jill Raggett

[eucanthos]

Welwitschia mirabilis

welwitschia (Eng.), tumboa, n'tumbo (Angolan), tweeblaarkanniedood (Afr.), !kharos (Nama/Damara), nyanka (Damara), khurub (Nama), onyanga (Herero)

Across the northern Namib desert, a truly unique plant has been flourishing, almost unchanged, for thousands of years.

Namib desert is extending for 1,900 km along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Namibe (formerly Moçâmedes) in Angola southward across Namibia to the Olifants River in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It rises gradually from the coast, to about 900 m, to the foot of the Great Escarpment, 130 to 160 km inland. Namib, from the Nama language, implying “an area where there is nothing”

Welwitschia mirabilis can survive for hundreds of years. Optimised survivor, it absorbs groundwater trapped beneath the sand and sea moisture fed by trade winds

Weird, peculiar, wonderful, strange, bizarre, fascinating, unique

Its has 2 unique large, strap like leaves that grow continuously and are gradually shredded into many, often dead-looking segments (by wind and animals mostly).

There are purely male and purely female plants (dioecious):

The pollen cones are a pinkish colour, oblong with small stigma-like growths on them. The seed cones are blue-green, larger than the pollen cones, but more rounded. Both cones produce a sugar-rich nectar-like substance

Screenshots above depict a very alive over 100 y/o individual

space and science 2024 Documentary, 4K UHD:

Namibia's Living Desert: A Story of Adaptation and Survival

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoZvjM3Anek

https://pza.sanbi.org/welwitschia-mirabilis

[hleavesk]

America's Love of Male Trees Could Be Why You're Sneezing Right Now

One researcher calls it "botanical sexism."

never did i know about these

(source: atlasobscura.com | may 2019)

Male trees are one of the most significant reasons why allergies have gotten so bad for citydwellers in recent decades. They’re indiscriminate, spewing their gametes in every direction. They can’t help it—it’s what evolution built them for. This is fine in the wild, where female trees trap pollen to fertilize their seeds. But urban forestry is dominated by male trees, so cities are coated in their pollen. Tom Ogren, horticulturalist and author of Allergy-Free Gardening: The Revolutionary Guide to Healthy Landscaping, was the first to link exacerbated allergies with urban planting policy, which he calls “botanical sexism.”

In trees, sex exists beyond the binary of female and male. Some, such as cedar, mulberry, and ash trees, are dioecious, meaning each plant is distinctly female or male. Others, such as oak, pine, and fig trees are monoecious, meaning they have male and female flowers on the same plant. It’s easy to identify female trees or parts—they’re the ones with seeds. And yet more, such as hazelnut and apple trees, produce “perfect” flowers that contain male and female parts within a single blossom.

[succygirl]

Welwitschia mirabilis (female) at the Berkeley Botanical Gardens

[seedkeeping]

View this post on Instagram

Pollen from the Winterspinat Haldenstein, shaken loose in slo-mo. Like asparagus, yams, kiwis, pawpaws, papayas, and hops, spinach plants are dioecious (“two houses”) meaning male and female flowers are on separate plants. Some plants, like squash and corn, are monoecious (“one house”), with separate male and female flowers on the same plant. However, as far as I know, the vast majority of plant species are hermaphroditic with perfect flowers that contain male and female parts that can self-pollinate. #winterspinathaldenstein #winterspinach #spinachpollen #pollen #dioecious #monoecious #hermaphroditic #plantsex #flowermorphology #heirloomspinach #seedkeeping #seedsaving

[indefenseofplants]

I was excited to find this patch of buffalograss (Bouteloua dactyloides) for a few reasons: 1) It is one of the few native grasses I can ID, 2) it is one of only dioecious grasses I am aware of - female plants produce flowers closer to the ground than the males you see here, 3) its a great candidate for a no-mow lawn, especially for dry soils, and 4) its adorable 🙃 #plants #botany #botanizing #buffalograss #nativeplants #bouteloua #grasses #poaceae #ecology #dioecious #flowers #flowering #angiosperms #nature #plantsofinstagram #plantoftheday #champaignurbana #champaignil #summer #grassland #illinois

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Thursday 19 January 2023

Endemic to southern Malawi and Mozambique Encephalartos gratus (cycad) can be found growing in wet forests, ravines and open savanna. The plants are dioecious (separate female and male plants) with orange-brown female cones and green cones with flecks of brown on the scales for male cones.

Jill Raggett

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Saturday 20 March 2021

The low growing, semi-evergreen shrub Ribes laurifolium (winter flowering currant) produces these fragrant, pale green flowers during February to March. This is a dioecious shrub so male and female plants are needed for berry production. The plant will thrive in semi shade, so it associates well with other early flowering bulbs and herbaceous perennials.

Jill Raggett