Micropyle
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Wikipedia.
micropyle
[′mī·krə‚pīl] (botany)
A minute opening in the integument at the tip of an ovule through which the pollen tube commonly enters; persists in the seed as an opening or a scar between the hilum and point of radicle.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Micropyle
(1) An opening in the membrane of the eggs of insects, arachnids, some mollusks, fishes, and a number of other animals, through which the spermatozoon penetrates. (2) An opening in the apex of the ovule in higher seed plants, through which the pollen tube penetrates during pollination. The micropyle is formed because the integuments surrounding the ovule are unattached.
Micropyle
the canal in the integument or integuments of a plant through which the ovule is penetrated in gymnosperms by pollen grains and in angiosperms by pollen tubes. The external opening of the micropyle may be observed on the surface of a mature seed in the form of a dark dot.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.