gemma

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gem·ma

(jĕm′ə)

n. pl. gem·mae (jĕm′ē′) Botany

An asexual budlike propagule capable of developing into a new individual, as in liverworts.

[Latin, bud; see gembh- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

gemma

(ˈdʒɛmə)

n, pl -mae (-miː)

1. (Botany) a small asexual reproductive structure in liverworts, mosses, etc, that becomes detached from the parent and develops into a new individual

2. (Zoology) zoology another name for gemmule¹

[C18: from Latin: bud, gem]

gemmaceous adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

gem•ma

(ˈdʒɛm ə)

n., pl. gem•mae (ˈdʒɛm i)

any budlike structure or outgrowth that can separate from the parent to form a new identical individual.

[1760–70; < Latin: bud, gem]

gem·ma

(jĕm′ə)

A bud-like outgrowth on certain organisms, such as the liverworts and mosses, that separates from the parent organism and develops into a new individual.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Noun

gemma - small asexual reproductive structure in e.g. liverworts and mosses that detaches from the parent and develops into a new individual

reproductive structure - the parts of a plant involved in its reproduction

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References in classic literature ?

It rolls away from its source with so inconsiderable a current, that it appears unlikely to escape being dried up by the hot season, but soon receiving an increase from the Gemma, the Keltu, the Bransu, and other less rivers, it is of such a breadth in the plain of Boad, which is not above three days' journey from its source, that a ball shot from a musket will scarce fly from one bank to the other.

View in context

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