gemma
a bud.
Botany. a cell or cluster of cells, or a leaflike or budlike body, that separates from the parent plant to form a new organism, as in mosses and liverworts.
Zoology. gemmule (def. 2).
Origin of gemma
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use gemma in a sentence
The gemmae formed on submerged Mucors may bud like a yeast, and even bring about alcoholic fermentation in a saccharine solution.
Erect branches may arise from the protonema, and gemmae may be developed on it.
In Aneura the contents of superficial cells, after becoming surrounded by a new wall and dividing, escape as bi-cellular gemmae.
Apart from the separation of branches by the decay of older portions, special gemmae are found in many species.
Usually the gemmae arise by the outgrowth of superficial cells, and become free by breaking away from their stalk.
British Dictionary definitions for gemma
/ (ˈdʒɛmə) /
a small asexual reproductive structure in liverworts, mosses, etc, that becomes detached from the parent and develops into a new individual
zoology another name for gemmule (def. 1)
Origin of gemma
1Derived forms of gemma
- gemmaceous (dʒɛˈmeɪʃəs), adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for gemma
[ jĕm′ə ]
A budlike mass of undifferentiated tissue which serves as a means of vegetative reproduction among mosses and liverworts. The gemmae, often formed in structures called gemma cups, are usually dispersed from the parent plant by the splashing of raindrops, after which they develop into new individuals.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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