Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A small, flat, delicate structure produced by a germinating spore and bearing sex organs. It is the gametophyte of ferns and some other plants.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Same as
prothallium .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Bot.) The minute primary growth from the spore of ferns and other
Pteridophyta , which bears the true sexual organs; the oöphoric generation of ferns, etc.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
prothallium .
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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The spores germinate and mature into a small plant called a prothallus which is the area for sexual reproduction.
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The prothallus is the gametophyte generationof a fern.
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The prothallus is the gametophyte generationof a fern.
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The prothallus is the gametophyte generationof a fern.
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The prothallus is the gametophyte generationof a fern.
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The prothallus is the gametophyte generationof a fern.
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Sometimes the prothallus itself buds directly from the frond without spores, for which process the term apóspory is used.
The Fern Lover's Companion A Guide for the Northeastern States and Canada George Henry Tilton
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At the end of six weeks or so the prothallus will perhaps appear, certainly in a week or two more; perhaps from unforeseen circumstances not for three months.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 460, October 25, 1884 Various
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Soon after the sporophyte can do that the the prothallus dies.
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In ferns the prominent generation is the sporophyte, the inconspicuous prothallus is hardly noticed and often overlooked or mistaken for a leave on the ground.
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