megaspore

American  

[meg-uh-spawr, -spohr] / ˈmɛg əˌspɔr, -ˌspoʊr /

noun

Botany.

1. the larger of the two kinds of spores characteristically produced by seed plants and a few fern allies, developing into a female gametophyte.

2. the embryo sac of a flowering plant.

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megaspore British  

/ ˈmɛɡəˌspɔː /

noun

1. 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

2. the cell in flowering plants that gives rise to the embryo sac

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megaspore Scientific  

/ mĕg′ə-spôr /

1. One of the two types of haploid spores produced by a heterosporous plant. Megaspores develop into female gametophytes and are usually larger than microspores.

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Other Word Forms

• megasporic adjective

Etymology

Origin of megaspore

First recorded in 1885–90; mega- + spore

Example Sentences

One megaspore mother cell, or megasporocyte, undergoes meiosis in each ovule.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

The megaspore divides three times to form an eight-cell stage.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

A megaspore develops into a female gametophyte containing a haploid egg.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

In the female cone, megaspore mother cells are present in the megasporangium.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

The behaviour of the chromosomes in meiosis or reduction division both in the pollen mother-cells and in the megaspore mother-cells which give rise to the so-called embryo-sac are fully described by Gates.

From Hormones and Heredity by Cunningham, J. T.