sporangium
Americannoun
-
sporangia
plural
noun
-
sporangia
plural
-
A cell or structure in which spores are produced. Ferns, fungi, mosses, and algae release spores from sporangia.
-
Also called spore case
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of sporangium
1815–25; < New Latin, equivalent to spor- spor- + Greek angeîon vessel
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.
See Examples For:
Then something magical happens: The fungus stops eating and rearranges itself into a giant stalk with a ball of cells — a sporangium — on top.
From New York Times ● Sep. 21, 2021
Figure 4. This bright field light micrograph shows the release of spores from a sporangium at the end of a hypha called a sporangiophore.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
From there, the fungus bursts forth from the poor ant’s head in the form of a sporangium that allows “thousands of spores” to “spread for miles,” with the help of the wind.
From Slate ● Jul. 8, 2014
The sporangium, the multicellular sexual reproductive structure, is present in bryophytes.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 25, 2013
Ascomycetes.—This, except in the case of a few of the simpler forms, is a very sharply marked group characterized by a special type of sporangium, the ascus.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 3 "Frost" to "Fyzabad" by Various
Upon maturation, the plasmodium takes on a net-like appearance with the ability to form fruiting bodies, or sporangia, during times of stress.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
Pine cones, mature fronds of ferns, and flowers are all sporophylls—leaves that were modified structurally to bear sporangia.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
Part B is a micrograph of long, thread-like mycelia and small, oval sporangia.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
The mature sporophyte produces sporangia, completing the cycle.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
“In the early stages of growth, before the appearance of the sporangia, the interrupted fern is easily confused with the cinnamon fern. Luckily, there are several ways the careful observer might tell them apart....”
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
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.
