noun

• The formation of more than one embryo from a single fertilized ovum or in a single seed.

  ‘A characteristic feature of gymnosperms is polyembryony manifested in the formation of more than one embryo in immature seed.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Three-banded armadillos developed a unique antipredator strategy by entirely rolling up into a ball, and nine-banded armadillos are the only vertebrates to reproduce by obligate monozygotic polyembryony.’
  • ‘The miracidia will then penetrate prosobranch snails, Elimia symmetrica, where they will transform first into mother sporocysts, which will give rise to daughter sporocysts via polyembryony.’
  • ‘Within the sporocyst, a special form of asexual reproduction, known as polyembryony, then occurs.’
  • ‘On arriving in Texas, he spent most of his research efforts studying polyembryony, first in the armadillo, and then in various parasitic wasps.’