morpho-, morph-, -morphous, -morphically, -morphia, -morphosis, -morphously, -morphy, -morphic, -morphism

1. The regulation of a form by light, as in the induction of flowering in plants by a minimal period of daylight.
2. A reaction in which the plant sows changes in growth and development caused by visible light independent of photosynthesis.

The most advanced geochemical stage of diagenesis (process of chemical and physical changes in deposited sediment during its conversion to rock), characterized by the replacement of clays by micas, feldspars, and chlorites.

Diagenesis refers to changes that take place in a sediment as a result of increased temperatures and pressures, causing solid rock to form, e.g. as sand becomes sandstone.

Mica is a group of chemically and physically related aluminum silicate minerals, common in igneous and metamorphic rocks, characteristically splitting into flexible sheets used in insulation and electrical equipment.

Feldspars are any of a group of abundant rock-forming minerals occurring principally in igneous, plutonic, and some metamorphic rocks, and consisting of silicates of aluminum with potassium, sodium, calcium, and, rarely, barium. About 60 percent of the earth's outer crust is composed of feldspar.

Chlorites consist of any of a group of green soft secondary minerals consisting of the hydrated silicates of aluminium, iron, and magnesium in monoclinic crystalline form; common in metamorphic rocks.

1. The succession and variations of leaves during different seasons.
2. The study of the transformations of leaves during different seasons.

A reference to a somewhat poorly drained site on a foot-slope.

Well-drained soil which has developed under the dominant influence of the natural vegetation characteristic of a region; zonal soils of an area: When Jane planned her garden, she wanted to have phytomorphic soil to improve the earth for the best results of her vegetables.

The occurrence of several distinct stages in the life cycle of an organism.

1. Exhibiting polymorphism at different states of the life cycle.
2. The ability to assume different forms.

1. Polymorphic; assuming various shapes or forms within a species or group, or during a single life cycle.
2. Occurring in various distinct forms; exhibiting pleomorphism.

The original character of a branching phyletic lineage, found in the ancestral forms.

Similar in form.

1. Similarity in form.
2. Close to or nearly the same shape.

1. Nearly alike in form.
2. Characterized by a form which is similar or like another one.

An ancestral or primitive character.

An evolutionary trait that is homologous within a particular group of organisms but is not unique to members of that group and therefore cannot be used as a diagnostic or defining character for the group.

For example, vertebrae are found in zebras, cheetahs, and orangutans; but the common ancestor in which this trait first evolved is so distant that the trait is shared by many other animals. As a result, possession of vertebrae sheds no light on the phylogenetic relations of these three species.

An animal or plant that has several different adult forms.

1. A reference to something occurring in several or many forms.
2. Relating to what appears in different forms at different stages of development.