gemma

American  

[jem-uh] / ˈdʒɛm ə /

noun

• gemmae
  plural

1. a bud.

2. 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.

3. Zoology. gemmule.

---

gemma British  

/ ˈdʒɛmə /

noun

1. a small asexual reproductive structure in liverworts, mosses, etc, that becomes detached from the parent and develops into a new individual

2. zoology another name for gemmule

---

gemma Scientific  

/ jĕm′ə /

• gemmae
  plural

1. 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.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• gemmaceous
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• gemmae
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of gemma

First recorded in 1760–70; from Latin: “bud, jewel”; see gem

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gemma gemmae

Gem, or Gemmule, from the Latin gemma, a bud.

From Principles of Geology or, The Modern Changes of the Earth and its Inhabitants Considered as Illustrative of Geology by Sir Charles Lyell

Left: Vorticella microstoma, showing alimentary tube, ciliated mouth, and formation of a gemma at the base, 300 linear.—Stein.

From Marvels of Pond-life A Year's Microscopic Recreations by Henry J. Slack

Many phænogams have gemma in addition to sexes, so have Hepaticæ. 

From Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bhootan, Afghanistan and the Neighbouring Countries by William Griffith

The frond grows from a flat disc-shaped gemma, the two sides of which are alike.

From Essays: Scientific, Political, & Speculative, Vol. I by Herbert Spencer

Anglica gemma sive fluor seems to be a synonym for Bristolla, or possibly for Vincentina et Bristolla.

From On the magnet, magnetick bodies also, and on the great magnet the earth a new physiology, demonstrated by many arguments & experiments by William Gilbert

"We first characterised the growth and cell division pattern in M. polymorpha gemmae, which was still unclear in the literature," said Dr Bonfanti.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2023

"To do so we made use of two systems: gemmae of the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, and the early-stage first true leaf of Arabidopsis thaliana."

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2023

The gemmae then land nearby and develop into gametophytes.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

Liverwort plants can also reproduce asexually, by the breaking of branches or the spreading of leaf fragments called gemmae.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

It is pleasant to meet with such still lines as,     "Jam laeto turgent in palmite gemmae";      Now the buds swell on the joyful stem.

From A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers by Henry David Thoreau

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---