gemma
[jem-uh]
- a bud.
- Botany. a cell or cluster of cells, or a leaflike or budlike body, that separates from the parent plant to form a new organism, as in mosses and liverworts.
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Origin of gemma
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for gemmae
Historical Examples
Usually the gemmae arise by the outgrowth of superficial cells, and become free by breaking away from their stalk.
The gemmae formed on submerged Mucors may bud like a yeast, and even bring about alcoholic fermentation in a saccharine solution.
Erect branches may arise from the protonema, and gemmae may be developed on it.
gemma
- a small asexual reproductive structure in liverworts, mosses, etc, that becomes detached from the parent and develops into a new individual
- zoology another name for gemmule (def. 1)
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Word Origin
C18: from Latin: bud, gem
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
gemma
[jĕm′ə]
- A budlike mass of undifferentiated tissue which serves as a means of vegetative reproduction among mosses and liverworts. The gemmae, often formed in structures called gemma cups, are usually dispersed from the parent plant by the splashing of raindrops, after which they develop into new individuals.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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