phragmoplast

[frag-muh-plast]

noun Botany.

the cytoplasmic structure that forms at the equator of the spindle after the chromosomes have divided during the anaphase of plant mitosis, and that initiates cell division.

Origin of phragmoplast

1910–15; < Greek phrágm(a) fence (see phragmites) + -o- + -plast

Also called cell plate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018