a. Bot. [f. L. locul-us, dim. of locus place + cīd-, cædĕre to cut + -AL.] Of a carpel, etc.: That dehisces through the back or dorsal suture of the loculus.
1819. Lindley, Richards Observ. Fruits & Seeds, 85. Loculicidal; when dehiscence takes place by the middle of the cells. Ibid. (1830), Nat. Syst. Bot., 33. Dehiscence either loculicidal or septicidal. Ibid., 134. Capsule with 3 loculicidal valves.
1870. Hooker, Stud. Flora (1884), 75. Loculicidal crustaceous or coriaceous carpels.
Hence Loculicidally adv.
1847. W. E. Steele, Field Bot., 175. Caps. separable into 3 pieces, sometimes dehiscing loculicidally.
1870. Hooker, Stud. Flora, 46. Polygala . Capsule compressed, loculicidally splitting along the edges. Ibid. (1884), 413. Berry indehiscent or loculicidally 45-valved.