caryopsis

[kar-ee-op-sis] /ˌkær iˈɒp sɪs/
noun, plural caryopses
[kar-ee-op-seez] /ˌkær iˈɒp siz/ (Show IPA), caryopsides
[kar-ee-op-si-deez] /ˌkær iˈɒp sɪˌdiz/ (Show IPA). Botany
1.
a small, one-celled, one-seeded, dry indehiscent fruit with the pericarp adherent to the seed coat, the typical fruit of grasses and grains.
Origin
1820-30; cary(o)- + -opsis
Examples from the web for caryopsis
  • Such caryopsis formation has never been observed previously in any known wheat.
  • Each spikelet consists of a caryopsis, the brown rice grain, and the surrounding hull.
  • Sometimes the germs are dislocated to the back of caryopsis for the caryopses formed from lodicules.
  • The ventral side of lodicule caryopsis is turned outwards of the flower.
  • The inflorescence is an open panicle with a single caryopsis in each spikelet.
  • Seeds were visually checked before treatments for a filled and mature caryopsis under a microscope.
British Dictionary definitions for caryopsis

caryopsis

/ˌkærɪˈɒpsɪs/
noun (pl) -ses (-siːz), -sides (-sɪˌdiːz)
1.
a dry seedlike fruit having the pericarp fused to the seed coat of the single seed: produced by the grasses
Word Origin
C19: New Latin; see karyo-, -opsis
caryopsis in Science
caryopsis
  (kār'ē-ŏp'sĭs)   
Plural caryopses (kār'ē-ŏp'sēz') or caryopsides (kār'ē-ŏp'sĭ-dēz')
A small, dry, one-seeded fruit of a cereal grass, having the fruit and the seed walls united. Also called grain.
Encyclopedia Article for caryopsis

specialized type of dry, one-seeded fruit (achene) characteristic of grasses, in which the ovary wall is united with the seed coat, making it difficult to separate the two except by special milling processes. All the cereal grains except buckwheat have caryopses.

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