apospory

[ ap-uh-spawr-ee, -spohr-ee, uh-pos-puh-ree ]

/ ˈæp əˌspɔr i, -ˌspoʊr i, əˈpɒs pə ri /

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noun Botany.

the development of a gametophyte from a sporophyte without meiosis.

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Origin of apospory

First recorded in 1880–85; apo- + spor- + -y³

OTHER WORDS FROM apospory

ap·o·spor·ic

[ap-uh-spawr-ik, -spor-], /ˌæp əˈspɔr ɪk, -ˈspɒr-/, a·pos·por·ous

[uh-pos-per-uhs, ap-uh-spawr-uhs, -spor-], /əˈpɒs pər əs, ˌæp əˈspɔr əs, -ˈspɒr-/, adjective

Words nearby apospory

aporia, aport, aposematic, aposematic coloration, aposiopesis, apospory, apostasy, apostate, apostatize, apostaxis, a posteriori

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How to use apospory in a sentence

This phenomenon of apospory was first discovered in mosses, but is now also known in a number of ferns (see Pteridophyta).
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3|Various

British Dictionary definitions for apospory

apospory

/ (ˈæpəˌspɔːrɪ) /

noun

botany development of the gametophyte from the sporophyte without the formation of spores

the development of an embryo of a flowering plant outside the embryo sac, from a cell of the nucellus or chalaza

Word Origin for apospory

C19: from apo- + spore + -y 1

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