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indusium

[ in-doo-zee-uhm, -zhee-uhm, -dyoo- ]
/ ɪnˈdu zi əm, -ʒi əm, -ˈdyu- /

noun, plural in·du·si·a [in-doo-zee-uh, -zhee-uh, -dyoo-]. /ɪnˈdu zi ə, -ʒi ə, -ˈdyu-/.

Botany, Mycology. any of several structures having a netlike or skirtlike shape, as the membranous overgrowth covering the sori in ferns.
Anatomy, Zoology.
  1. an enveloping layer or membrane.
  2. a thin layer of gray matter on the corpus callosum.

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Origin of indusium

1700–10; <New Latin; Latin: kind of tunic, perhaps <Greek éndys(is) dressing, dress (endý(ein) to put on + -sis-sis) + Latin -ium, for Greek -ion noun suffix

OTHER WORDS FROM indusium

in·du·si·al, adjective

Words nearby indusium

indurated, induration, indurative, Indus, indusiate, indusium, indusium griseum, industrial, industrial action, industrial archaeology, industrial arts
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for indusium

British Dictionary definitions for indusium

indusium
/ (ɪnˈdjuːzɪəm) /

noun plural -sia (-zɪə)

a membranous outgrowth on the undersurface of fern leaves that covers and protects the developing sporangia
an enveloping membrane, such as the amnion

Derived forms of indusium

indusial, adjective

Word Origin for indusium

C18: New Latin, from Latin: tunic, from induere to put on
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

Scientific definitions for indusium

indusium
[ ĭn-dōō′zē-əm, -zhē- ]

Plural indusia

A thin membrane covering the sorus of a fern. The indusium often shrivels away when spores are ready to be dispersed. Also called fruitcover
A cuplike structure fringed with hairs and located at the top of the style in flowers of the family Goodeniaceae (which includes the garden flowers lobelia and scaevola). Pollen is deposited into the indusium by the anthers of the same flower and, as the style grows, carried up for dispersal by pollinating insects.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.