indusia

in·du·si·um

[in-doo-zee-uhm, -zhee-uhm, -dyoo-]
noun, plural in·du·si·a [-zee-uh, -zhee-uh] .
1.
Botany, Mycology. any of several structures having a netlike or skirtlike shape, as the membranous overgrowth covering the sori in ferns.
2.
Anatomy, Zoology.
a.
an enveloping layer or membrane.
b.
a thin layer of gray matter on the corpus callosum.
Origin:
1700–10; < Neo-Latin; Latin: kind of tunic, perhaps < Greek éndys(is) dressing, dress (endý(ein) to put on + -sis -sis) + Latin -ium, for Greek -ion noun suffix

Related forms
in·du·si·al, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
indusium (ɪnˈdjuːzɪəm) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n , pl -sia
1.  a membranous outgrowth on the undersurface of fern leaves that covers and protects the developing sporangia
2.  an enveloping membrane, such as the amnion
 
[C18: New Latin, from Latin: tunic, from induere to put on]
 
in'dusial
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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00:10
Indusia is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
indusium   (ĭn-d'zē-əm, -zhē-)  Pronunciation Key 
Plural indusia

  1. A thin membrane covering the sorus of a fern. The indusium often shrivels away when spores are ready to be dispersed. Also called fruitcover.

  2. A cuplike structure fringed with hairs and located at the top of the style in flowers of the family Goodeniaceae (which includes the garden flowers lobelia and scaevola). Pollen is deposited into the indusium by the anthers of the same flower and, as the style grows, carried up for dispersal by pollinating insects.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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