Gnetales

plural noun

Gne·​ta·​les
-ā(ˌ)lēz
: an order of chiefly tropical or xerophytic woody gymnospermous plants that have two cotyledons, opposite leaves, vessels in the wood, and compound male and female strobili, consist of a single family (Gnetaceae), and are practically unknown as fossils but are sometimes considered on structural grounds to be near or on the ancestral line of the angiosperms

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Gnetum + -ales

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Cite this Entry

“Gnetales.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Gnetales. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

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