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prothallium

[proh-thal-ee-uhm]

noun, plural pro·thal·li·a

[-thal-ee-uh] .

Botany. the gametophyte of ferns and related plants.

the analogous rudimentary gametophyte of seed-bearing plants.

Origin:
1855–60; < Neo-Latin < Greek pro- pro-² + thallíon, diminutive of thallós young shoot; see -ium

Related forms

pro·thal·li·al, pro·thal·lic, pro·thal·line

[proh-thal-een, -ahyn] , adjective

pro·thal·loid, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To prothallium

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Prothallium is always a great word to know.

So is sporophyte. Does it mean:

phylum of green, nonvascular, seedless plants comprised of true mosses, hornworts and liverworts

form of a diploid plant in the alternation of generations that produces asexual spores

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Collins

World English Dictionary

prothallus or prothallium (prəʊˈθæləs, prəʊˈθælɪəm)

—n , pl -li, -lia
	botany the small flat free-living gametophyte that bears the reproductive organs of ferns, horsetails, and club mosses. It is either a green disc on the soil surface or it is colourless and subterranean

[C19: from New Latin, from pro- before + Greek thallus a young shoot]

prothallium or prothallium (prəʊˈθæləs, prəʊˈθælɪəm, -laɪ, -lɪə)

—n

[C19: from New Latin, from pro- before + Greek thallus a young shoot]

pro'thallic or prothallium

—*adj*

pro'thallial or prothallium

—*adj*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

prothallium

the small, green, heart-shaped structure (gametophyte) of a fern that produces both male and female sex cells (gametes). The prothallium forms from a spore. After fertilization, a young sporophyte plant develops; it consists of a primary root, primary leaf, the rudiment of a new stem, and an organ, called a foot, that absorbs food from the gametophyte.

Learn more about prothallium with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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prothallium

pro·thal·li·um