Dioecious
/dy-EE-shus/🌸 Flower Parts●●● Advanced
Also known as: unisexual
A reproductive strategy where a species has distinct male and female individual plants. Male plants produce only pollen-bearing flowers, while female plants produce only seed-bearing flowers. Both sexes must be present for fruit production. Common dioecious plants include holly, kiwi, ginkgo, and asparagus. In horticulture, this means one must plant both male and female specimens for fruit set.
Etymology
Greek di (two) + oikos (house) — literally "two houses"
Example
“Holly is dioecious, so you need at least one male plant nearby to produce berries on the female plants.”