Isosporous

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Producing spores that are all of the same size and shape, as in many ferns and fungi
2. Characterized by the generation of spores that are uniform in their dimensions and structure throughout
3. Forming spores of identical size and appearance without variation between individual spores

Etymology: "Isosporous" is a technical biological term, formed by joining the prefix "iso-", from Greek "isos" meaning "equal", to "sporous", which describes organisms that produce spores. Together they describe plants or algae that produce only one kind of spore, all of the same size and form, rather than the differently sized spores found in heterosporous species. The contrast is what gives the word its meaning. In heterosporous plants, such as many ferns and seed plants, a small male-producing spore and a large female-producing spore develop separately. Isosporous organisms, by contrast, release spores that look alike, and any one of them can develop into a gametophyte that makes both sex cells, or sometimes into gametophytes that specialize. The word thus names a distinction in reproductive strategy rather than a physical shape or habit.