n :  a genus of trees (family Bombacaceae) having palmately divided leaves, white pendent flowers, and capsular fruits - see BAOBAB 
 
Adan•son, Michel (1727-1806), French naturalist. Adanson played a major, although unrecognized, role in introducing modern statistical methods into systematic botany. In 1763-64 he published Familles des plantes in which he proposed a system of plant classification and nomenclature based on many characters instead of a few selected ones. Although the system enjoyed a period of usage, it was superseded by the Linnaean system.
 
    
 
Similar sounding terms:  aden·o·sine 
 
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