English

A sporangium of Equisetum arvense (common horsetail)

Noun

sporangium ‎(plural sporangia)

1. (botany, mycology) A case, capsule, or container in which spores are produced by an organism. [From 1821.]
   • 1993, Sally Stenhouse Kneidel, Creepy Crawlies and the Scientific Method: Over 100 Hands-on Science Experiments for Children, page 81,

     Scientific explanations include that exposure to light, lack of moisture or absence of food can cause sporangia to form from the plasmodium. At least one of these three conditions has been present every time I've seen sporangia form.

   • 2000, Peter R. Bell, Alan R. Hemsley, Green Plants: Their Origin and Diversity, page 161,

     Asexual reproduction by the production of a bud in place of a sporangium is not uncommon.

   • 2009, Edith L. Taylor, Thomas N. Taylor, Michael Krings, Paleobotany: The Biology and Evolution of Fossil Plants, page 416,

     The sporangia, however, are much larger: 3–4 mm long 0.7–1.1 mm in diameter versus only 1–1.5 mm long 0.5–0.8 mm in Corynepteris, and are characteristically banana shaped with a pair of elongate annuli.

Synonyms

• (vessel in which spores are produced): capsule, sporange

Derived terms

Related terms

• spore
• sporange
• synangium

Translations

References

• OED2