Definition of "autogamy" [au•tog•a•my]

• Botany Self-fertilization in plants. (noun)
• Biology The union of nuclei within and arising from a single cell, as in certain protozoans and fungi. (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.

• "Studies of compatibility of about 14% of the flora indicate that 85% of these species are self-compatible, but their level of autogamy is low."
• "Self-pollenization (autogamy): pollen moves to the female part of the same flower, or to another flower on the same individual plant."
• "This is sometimes referred to as self-pollination, but this is not synonymous with autogamy."