megaspore
the larger of the two kinds of spores characteristically produced by seed plants and a few fern allies, developing into a female gametophyte.: Compare microspore.
the embryo sac of a flowering plant.
Origin of megaspore
1- Also called macrospore.
Other words from megaspore
- meg·a·spor·ic [meg-uh-spawr-ik, -spor-], /ˌmɛg əˈspɔr ɪk, -ˈspɒr-/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use megaspore in a sentence
The megaspores are, of course, very much larger than the microspores.
How to Know the Ferns | S. Leonard BastinThe germination of the megaspores is started in the sporangium; at a certain point in their development they are shed.
How to Know the Ferns | S. Leonard BastinThe number of microspores produced is very large, but only four megaspores are borne in each megasporangium.
How to Know the Ferns | S. Leonard BastinThe megaspores bear hooks, and in this way the two processes become attached.
How to Know the Ferns | S. Leonard Bastin
British Dictionary definitions for megaspore
/ (ˈmɛɡəˌspɔː) /
Also called: macrospore the larger of the two types of spore produced by some spore-bearing plants, which develops into the female gametophyte: Compare microspore (def. 1)
the cell in flowering plants that gives rise to the embryo sac
Derived forms of megaspore
- megasporic, 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 megaspore
[ mĕg′ə-spôr ]
One of the two types of haploid spores produced by a heterosporous plant. Megaspores develop into female gametophytes and are usually larger than microspores.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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