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.

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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

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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.

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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

The gemma is found most frequently in the liverworts and mosses, and is highly characteristic of these plants, in which indeed vegetative reproduction maybe said to reach its fullest and most varied extent.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 531, March 6, 1886 by Various

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

Complicated contrapuntal pieces, such as we should call madrigals, with ever-recurring refrains of 'Venezia, gemma Triatica, sposa del mar,' descending probably from ancient days, followed each other in quick succession.

From Sketches and Studies in Italy and Greece, First Series by Horatio Robert Forbes Brown

We have in plastic art only two pictorial reproductions: the so-called Vienna gemma, Augustus's Pannonian triumph, and the Parisian gemma, Germanicus's triumph, to show us objectively the vestments of the ancient Germans.

From Women of the Teutonic Nations Woman: In all ages and in all countries Vol. 8 (of 10) by Hermann Schoenfeld

"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

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

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

The gemmae then land nearby and develop into gametophytes.

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