heterophyly

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English

Etymology

From hetero- +‎ -phyly.

Noun

heterophyly (uncountable)

  1. (biology) The tendency of different types of individuals to form relationships.
    • 2000, James Patrick Brock, The Evolution of Adaptive Systems: The General Theory of Evolution, Elsevier, →ISBN, page 438:
      Heterophyly (where a plant has quite different leaves in the juvenile stage compared to the mature state) is just one of many traits manifesting apparently widespread parallel evolution in the plant kingdom []

Antonyms