pro·thal·lus (pr -th l  s) or pro·thal·li·um (-thl -m)n. pl. pro·thal·li (-th l ) or pro·thal·li·a (-thl-) A small, flat, delicate structure produced by a germinating spore and bearing sex organs. It is the gametophyte of ferns and some other plants. [New Latin : pro- + Greek thallos, shoot (from thallein, to sprout).] pro·thal li·al (-l-l) adj. |
prothallus [prəʊˈθæləs], prothallium [prəʊˈθælɪəm]
n pl -li [-laɪ], -lia [-lɪə]
(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Botany) 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
[from New Latin, from pro- before + Greek thallus a young shoot]
prothallic , prothallial adj
| prothallus (pr-thls) Plural prothalli (pr -thl) The gametophyte of homosporous ferns and some other plants. Prothalli have chlorophyll for photosynthesis, but they are not differentiated into roots, stems, or leaves. They are usually small, flat, and delicate. Prothalli develop from germinated spores, and they bear both archegonia for producing eggs and antheridia for producing sperm. See more at alternation of generations. |
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