Spermogonium

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A microscopic flask-shaped structure in certain rust fungi that produces the spermatia, the non-motile cells involved in their life cycle
2. The small pycnidium-like body on rust fungi in which spermatia are formed as part of the organism's reproductive cycle
3. A tiny fruiting organ found on rust fungi that bears spermatia, playing a role in the fungus's sexual reproduction stage

Etymology: Spermogonium is a technical coinage rather than an old word with a dramatic past. It is built from two Greek-derived pieces: "sperma", meaning seed, and "gonos", meaning generation or offspring, with the suffix "-ium" added as a Latinized ending. The result is a term for a structure that produces the male reproductive cells of certain fungi, especially rust fungi. The "sperm-" in the word has nothing to do with human biology. It reflects the old Greek sense of "seed" applied loosely to the tiny cells that these fungi release, a usage that had been carried into scientific Latin long before modern biology separated those cells from the seeds of plants. The "-gonium" element appears in other scientific coinages where a structure is named for what it gives rise to, so the word reads almost like "seed-generating organ" once the pieces are unpacked.