carpophore

[ kahr-puh-fawr, -fohr ]

noun

, Botany.

1. a slender prolongation of the floral axis, bearing the carpels of some compound fruits, as in many plants of the parsley family.
2. Mycology. the fruiting body of the higher fungi.

carpophore

/ ˈkɑːpəˌfɔː /

noun

1. the central column surrounded by carpels in such flowers as the geranium
2. a spore-bearing structure in some of the higher fungi

carpophore

/ kär′pə-fôr′ /

1. A fleshy, spore-producing body of basidiomycetes and ascomycetes. In common usage, the term mushroom is applied to carpophores that have a distinctive stipe and cap.
2. A slender stalk that supports each half of a dehisced fruit in many members of the parsley family.

Word History and Origins

Origin of carpophore¹

First recorded in 1865–70; carpo- ¹ + -phore

Example Sentences

The pedicel on which the ovary of certain flowers, as the passion flower, is seated; a carpophore or thecaphore.

From Project Gutenberg