gemma

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see also: Gemma

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Noun

gemma (plural gemmae)

1. (botany) A bud; an asexual reproductive structure, as found in liverworts and hydra, able to produce new individuals from a cluster of cells.
   • 1969, Rudolf Mathias Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America East of the Hundredth Meridian, Volume 1, Columbia University Press, page 527 ↗,

     I know of no other genera with such intramarginal formation of true gemmae.

   • 1990, Anthony John Edwin Smith, The Liverworts of Britain and Ireland, page 2 ↗,

     Gemmae are frequently longer than wide or of irregular shape.

     According to Degenkolbe, gemmae-bearing leaves are always different in form from normal leaves.

   • 2005, R. N. Chopra, Biology of Bryophytes, page 32 ↗,

     In Marchantia polymorpha, high temperature promotes germination of gemmae (Dacknowski, 1907), and heat absorbed by the gemmae accelerates their germination (Fitting, 1942).

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Gemma

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Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈdʒɛmə/

Proper noun

1. A female given name.
   • 1971 Ruth Rendell, No More Dying Then, Random House (2009), ISBN 9780099534853, page 35:

     Gemma. A curious name. He didn't think he had ever come across it before. She would have an outlandish name, either because her equally eccentric parents had labelled her with it or—more likely—she had adopted it herself on the grounds of originality.

   • 1998 Lisa Andrews, Too Late For Love, Robinson Pub. 1998, ISBN 1854875914, page 200:

     Gemma gave him another gushing smile. She wanted to make amends for almost fouling up Blake's deal. "Gemma. What a beautiful name. You are indeed a jewel."

2. (star) A bright binary star in the constellation Corona Borealis; Alpha (α) Coronae Borealis.

Translations

• Italian: Gemma
• Spanish: Gemma

Translations

• German: Gemma

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