‖ peloria Bot.
(pɪˈlɔərɪə)
[mod.L., f. Gr. πέλωρ-ος monstrous, f. πέλωρ prodigy, monster; used first as a specific adj. in the name Linaria Peloria.]
Regularity or symmetry of structure occurring abnormally in flowers normally irregular or unsymmetrical.
| 1859 Darwin Orig. Spec. v. 145 In irregular flowers, those nearest to the axis are oftenest subject to peloria, and become regular. 1885 Science Gossip 184 Peloria, or the regular form of flowers normally irregular, seems to be most common among flowers with spurred petals. |
Hence
peˈlorian,
peˈloriate,
peloric (
pɪˈlɒrɪk)
adjs., affected with or characterized by peloria;
pelorism (
ˈpɛlərɪz(ə)m)
= peloria;
pelorize (
ˈpɛləraɪz)
v. trans., to affect with peloria (whence
ˌpeloriˈzation).
| 1896 Henslow Wild Flowers 164 In the *pelorian variety the complete number, five, may be restored. |
| 1889 Sci. Amer. 11 May 293/2 In Linaria cymbalaria *peloriate flowers and other changes were found. |
| 1857 Mayne Expos. Lex., Peloricus, that which is of unnatural size; monstrous: *peloric. 1860 Darwin in Life & Lett. (1887) II. 290 There is, I believe, only one case on record of a peloric flower being fertile. |
| 1868 ― Anim. & Pl. xiii. II. 58 *Pelorism is not due to mere chance variability, but either to an arrest of development or to reversion. |
| 1876 Balfour in Encycl. Brit. IV. 129/2 In some instances, by *pelorization, it is found that tetradynamous plants become tetrandrous. |
| 1868 Darwin Anim. & Pl. xxvi. II. 346 The most perfectly *pelorised examples had six petals, each marked with black striæ like those on the standard-petal. |