strobilus

See also: Strobilus

English

Strobilus of Equisetum ("horsetail")

Part of strobilus of male Encephalartos villosus open for shedding pollen

Ripe female strobilus of Encephalartos villosus releasing fruit by progressively shedding its component scales

Empty strobili of female alder after having shed the seeds.

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek στρόβιλος (stróbilos). According to Liddell and Scott, 8th ed. 1882: of various meanings such as a pine-cone, something screwed up into a lump like a pine-cone, a pine tree and more.

Noun

strobilus (plural strobili)

1. (botany) A cone-shaped fruiting body sensu stricto of gymnosperms and vascular plants other than angiosperms, bearing either seeds or spores, but sensu lato may refer to similarly structured catkins and cones in angiosperms; usage arbitrary according to preferences of various authorities.
   1. (botany) Sensu strictissimo a more-or-less cone-shaped fruiting body of any of various vascular Pteridophyta, such as horsetail, that bear spores;
   2. (botany) Sensu stricto according to source and context, a more-or-less cone-shaped fruiting body; a structure that might or might not be seen as an infructescence, usually woody, of either Pteridophyta or gymnosperms such as pines and cycads, that bear seeds — usage has varied arbitrarily among authors since the 19th century.
   3. (botany) Sensu lato according to source and context, A more-or-less cone-shaped fruiting body; a structure that might or might not be seen as an infructescence of either Pteridophyta, gymnosperms, or angiosperms; examples include the cones of Casuarina, or catkin-like strobili of Alnus
      • 2006, Anil Kumar, Botany for Degree Pteridophyta‎^[1], S. Chand Publishing, →ISBN:

        The strobilus in Selaginella is the sporangia-bearing region of the sporophyte. The sporangia arise in the axils of leaves called the sporophylls.

      • 2009, Claire G. Williams, Conifer Reproductive Biology‎^[2], Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN:

        As a term, female strobilus refers to the stage prior to pollination... The strobilus emerges slowly from its bud then its scales flex open. Once pollinated the strobilus now becomes a conelet. At fertilization the conelet becomes a cone.

2. (zoology) A strobila, a layered reproductive stage in jellyfish, in which the swimming medusa form is produced.

Related terms

• strobila
• strobilar
• strobilate

Translations

botany: cone

• Catalan: estròbil m
• Dutch: kegelvrucht
• Finnish: käpy (fi)
• Hebrew: אִצְטְרוֹבָּל (he) m (itztrobál)
• Korean: 구과(毬果) (gugwa)
• Romanian: strobil (ro) m
• Spanish: estróbilo (es) m

zoology: a layered reproductive stage in jellyfish

References

• strobilus on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “strobilus”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.