carpel
/'kɑ:pel/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A simple pistil or one element of a compound pistil: In botany, a carpel is the fundamental female reproductive organ of a flowering plant. It is the ovule-bearing unit of a flower, which may exist singly (forming a simple pistil) or be fused with others (forming a compound pistil).
Examples of Usage
- Noun:
- The flower's gynoecium is composed of three fused carpels.
- A simple pistil consists of a single carpel.
- Botanists study the evolution of the carpel in angiosperms.
Advanced Usage
- "Free carpel": A carpel that is not fused with others, forming a distinct, separate pistil.
- The magnolia flower contains numerous free carpels arranged on a central receptacle.
- "Carpel wall": The tissue layers that make up the structure of the carpel, which develop into the fruit wall (pericarp) after fertilization.
- The carpel wall differentiates into the exocarp, mesocarp, and endocarp.
Variants and Related Words
- Carpellary (adj): Of or relating to a carpel or carpels.
- The carpellary tissue surrounds the ovules.
- Pistil (n): The female reproductive part of a flower, which may consist of one carpel (simple pistil) or multiple fused carpels (compound pistil).
- Gynoecium (n): The collective term for all the carpels (or pistils) in a single flower.
Synonyms
- Megasporophyll: A more technical botanical term for a leaf-like structure that bears megasporangia (ovules); in flowering plants, this is the carpel.
- Ovule-bearing leaf: A descriptive synonym highlighting the carpel's function and evolutionary origin.
Related Terms and Concepts
- Locule (n): A chamber within an ovary (formed by one or more carpels) where the ovules are housed.
- Each carpel in this compound ovary contains a single locule.
- Placenta (n): The tissue within the ovary (part of the carpel) to which the ovules are attached.
- The ovules are attached to the central placenta of the carpel.
Noun
- a simple pistil or one element of a compound pistil