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Definition of "virescence" []

  • The state or process of becoming green, especially the abnormal development of green coloration in plant parts normally not green. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "virescence" in a sentence
  • "= -- This change, spoken of by most authors as retrograde metamorphosis of the petals into sepals, or as a substitution of sepals for petals, is obviously a condition that is in most cases hardly distinguishable from virescence of the corolla, or from multiplication of the sepals."
  • "Indeed, virescence or chloranthy is very intimately connected with this aberration, as might have been anticipated, for if the parts of the flower assume more or less of the condition of stem-leaves or bracts, it is quite natural to expect that they will partake likewise of the attributes of leaves, even at the expense of their own peculiar functions."
  • "It must be distinguished from virescence, or the mere green colour of the floral organs, and from chloranthy, in which all or the greater portion of the parts of the flower are replaced by leaves."