heterophyly

English

Etymology

hetero- +‎ -phyly

Noun

heterophyly (uncountable)

1. (biology) The tendency of different types of individuals to form relationships.
   • 2000, James Patrick Brock, The Evolution of Adaptive Systems: The General Theory of Evolution, Elsevier, →ISBN, page 438:

     Heterophyly (where a plant has quite different leaves in the juvenile stage compared to the mature state) is just one of many traits manifesting apparently widespread parallel evolution in the plant kingdom […]

Antonyms

• homophyly