aposporous
|a-pos-por-ous|
🇺🇸
/əˈpɑːspərəs/
🇬🇧
/əˈpɒspərəs/
development without meiosis/spore formation
Etymology
'aposporous' originates from New Latin, specifically the word 'aposporus', where the prefix 'a-' meant 'without' and 'spora' (from Greek 'spora') meant 'seed' or 'spore'.
'aposporous' changed from New Latin 'aposporus' (formed in 19th-century botanical Latin) and was adopted into English as the adjective 'aposporous' by adding the adjectival suffix '-ous'.
Initially formed to denote 'without spores' in a literal sense, over time it came to refer specifically to the botanical condition of forming gametophytes or embryo sacs without meiosis (aposporic development).
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
relating to or exhibiting apospory: producing a gametophyte or embryo sac directly from somatic cells without meiosis (i.e., the development of the sexual phase without formation of meiotic spores).
The fern species is aposporous, producing gametophytes directly from somatic cells without meiosis.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/09/21 22:24