antheridium

American  

[an-thuh-rid-ee-uhm] / ˌæn θəˈrɪd i əm /

noun

Botany, Mycology.

plural

antheridia

1. a male reproductive structure producing gametes, occurring in ferns, mosses, fungi, and algae.

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antheridium British  

/ ˌænθəˈrɪdɪəm /

noun

1. the male sex organ of algae, fungi, bryophytes, and spore-bearing vascular plants, such as ferns, which produces antherozoids

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antheridium Scientific  

/ ăn′thə-rĭd′ē-əm /

plural

antheridia

1. An organ in certain organisms that produces male gametes. Antheridia are found in many groups of organisms, including the bryophytes, ferns, ascomycete fungi, and some algae. Most gymnosperms and all angiosperms, however, have lost the antheridium, and its role is filled by the pollen grain.

2. Compare archegonium

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Other Word Forms

• antheridial adjective

Etymology

Origin of antheridium

From New Latin, dating back to 1850–55; anther, -idium

Example Sentences

The “male” strain produces an antheridium and the “female” strain develops an ascogonium.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

In a process called plasmogamy, the ascogonium and antheridium fuse to form a cell with multiple haploid nuclei.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

At fertilization, the antheridium and the ascogonium combine in plasmogamy without nuclear fusion.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

The sperm need all the help they can get in moving toward the egg, seldom travelling more than four inches from the structure called an antheridium that produced them.

From Scientific American • Jul. 28, 2012

When ripe, the antheridium opens at the end and discharges the spermatozoids, which are, however, so very small as scarcely to be visible except with the strongest lenses.

From Elements of Structural and Systematic Botany For High Schools and Elementary College Courses by Campbell, Douglas Houghton