propagule

[ prop-uh-gyool ]

noun

1. Botany, Mycology. any structure capable of being propagated or acting as an agent of reproduction.

propagule

/ prəʊˈpæɡjʊləm; ˈprɒpəˌɡjuːl /

noun

1. a plant part, such as a bud, that becomes detached from the rest of the plant and grows into a new plant

propagule

/ prŏp′ə-gyo̅o̅l′ /

1. Any of various structures that can give rise to a new individual organism, especially parts of a plant that serve as means of vegetative reproduction, such as corms, tubers, offsets, or runners. Seeds and spores are also propagules.
2. An elongated, dart-shaped seedling of various mangrove species growing in swampy habitats. A propagule develops from a seed that germinates while still attached to the parent tree. The parent supplies the seedling with nutrients and water until it becomes heavy and drops off. Its pointed end sticks in the mud or it floats away to colonize another area.

Word History and Origins

Origin of propagule¹

1855–60; < New Latin propāgulum, derivative of propāgō shoot, runner; propagate, -ule

Word History and Origins

Origin of propagule¹

C20: from propag ( ate ) + -ule

Example Sentences

She plucks a propagule — a dark-brown pod longer than her hand — from a tree belonging to the mangrove species Bruguiera gymnorhiza.

From Science News