prothallium
Americannoun
plural
prothallia-
Botany. the gametophyte of ferns and related plants.
-
the analogous rudimentary gametophyte of seed-bearing plants.
Other Word Forms
- prothallial adjective
- prothallic adjective
- prothalline adjective
- prothalloid adjective
Etymology
Origin of prothallium
1855–60; < New Latin < Greek pro- pro- 2 + thallíon, diminutive of thallós young shoot; -ium
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As soon as the fern is firmly established, the prothallium withers away.
From Project Gutenberg
J, a male prothallium, × 50. an. an antheridium.
From Project Gutenberg
The spore produces the small green prothallium by cell-division in the usual way, and this completes the cycle of fern life.
From Project Gutenberg
In studying the development of the antheridia, it is only necessary to mount the plants in water and examine them directly; but the study of the archegonia requires careful longitudinal sections of the prothallium.
From Project Gutenberg
He showed that "the embryo-sac of the Coniferae may be looked upon as a spore remaining enclosed in its sporangium; the prothallium which it forms does not come to the light."
From Project Gutenberg
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
