Epicotyl
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epicotyl
[‚ep·ə′käd·əl] (botany)
The embryonic plant stem above the cotyledons.
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 It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Epicotyl
the part of the stem in a plant seedling between the cotyledons and the first true leaves (the first internode). In embryos the epicotyl is a conoid outgrowth consisting of primary formative tissue, or meristem. In plants with aboveground shoot formation the epicotyl and the cotyledons appear above the surface of the soil (for example, in beans and melons). In plants having underground shoot development the cotyledons remain in the soil, and the epicotyl is bent into a loop and then straightened; it carries the bud with the first leaves to the surface, toward the light (for example, in peas, plums, and oaks).
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.