sieve cell

noun

, Botany.

1. an elongated cell whose walls contain perforations sieve pores that are arranged in circumscribed areas sieve plates and that afford communication with similar adjacent cells.

sieve cell

/ sĭv /

1. An elongated, food-conducting cell in phloem characteristic of gymnosperms. Sieve cells have pores through which nutrients flow from cell to cell, but they have no sieve plates like the more specialized sieve-tube elements of angiosperms.
2. Compare sieve-tube element

Word History and Origins

Origin of sieve cell¹

First recorded in 1870–75