archesporium
|ar-ke-spor-i-um|
🇺🇸
/ˌɑrkiˈspɔriəm/
🇬🇧
/ˌɑːkiˈspɔːrɪəm/
tissue that gives rise to spores
Etymology
'archesporium' originates from New Latin, ultimately from Greek roots: 'arkhē' (ἀρχή) meaning 'beginning' or 'origin' and 'spora' (σπορά) meaning 'seed' or 'spore', with the neuter suffix '-ium' from Latin/Greek.
'archesporium' was coined in botanical New Latin (19th century usage) as a compound of 'arch-' (original/beginning) + 'spore' elements and was adopted into English botanical terminology without significant change.
Initially, it meant 'the original or primary spore-forming tissue'; over time the term has retained this technical botanical sense with little change.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a group or layer of specialized cells in a plant's reproductive organ (such as an anther or ovule) that differentiates into spore mother cells (sporogenous tissue).
During ovule development, the archesporium gives rise to the megaspore mother cell.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/10/06 01:26