prothallus

Variant of prothallium

prothallium definition

pro·thal·lium (prō t̸hal′ē əm)

noun pl. prothallia -·lia (-ə)

Bot. a minute, flat, greenish disc of cells bearing sex organs on its lower side, usually attached to the ground by single-celled hairs, and forming the haploid, sexual generation of ferns and similar plants
also prothallus pro·thal′·lus (-əs)

Etymology: ModL < Gr pro-, before + thallos, a shoot (< IE base *dhal-, to bloom > Alb dal, to sprout) + -ium

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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