archegonium

[ahr-ki-goh-nee-uhm]

noun

Botany.

plural

archegonia 

1. the female reproductive organ in ferns, mosses, etc.

archegonium

/ ˌɑːkɪˈɡəʊnɪəm /

noun

1. a female sex organ, occurring in mosses, spore-bearing vascular plants, and gymnosperms, that produces a single egg cell in its swollen base

archegonium

plural

archegonia 

1. The egg-producing organ occurring in bryophytes (such as mosses and liverworts), ferns, and most gymnosperms. The archegonium is a multicellular, often flask-shaped structure that contains a single egg.

2. Compare antheridium

Other Word Forms

• archegonial adjective
• archegoniate adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of archegonium¹

1850–55; < New Latin, equivalent to archegon- (< Greek archégonos first of a race; arche-, gono- ) + -ium < Greek -ion diminutive suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of archegonium¹

C19: from New Latin, from Greek arkhegonos original parent, from arkhe- chief, first + gonos seed, race

Example Sentences

They must swim, unaided, across an ephemeral film of water coating the nooks and crannies of mosses in search of an egg concealed within a protective structure called an archegonium.

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In germination they develop a minute prothallus which bears archegonia to be fertilized by antherozoids developed from the microspores.

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The structure of the seed, the presence of two neck-cells in the archegonia, the late development of the embryo, the partially-fused cotyledons and certain anatomical characters, are features common to Ginkgo and the cycads.

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By dissecting the young buds, archegonia in all stages of growth may be found.

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The small thallus bears the antheridia and archegonia, each of which is surrounded by a tubular involucre, on the upper surface of distinct individuals.

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