tetraspore Bot.
(ˈtɛtrəspɔə(r))
[f. tetra- + spore.]
A group (usually) of four asexual spores, resulting from the division of a mother cell, in the Florideæ, a group of Algæ.
| 1857 Berkeley Cryptog. Bot. §88. 108 Tetraspores, mostly immersed in the fronds. 1867 Brande & Cox Dict. Sc., etc. III. 754/2 Tetraspore [is] one of the forms of fructification found in some sea-weeds. It consists of little clusters of spores, in most cases four in number, but very rarely eight. 1875 J. H. Balfour in Encycl. Brit. I. 508/2 Spores have a tendency to divide into four; such compound spores are called tetraspores. |
Hence tetrasporic (-ˈspɒrɪk), tetrasporous (tɛtrəˈspɔərəs, tɪˈtræspərəs) adjs., composed of or producing tetraspores.
| 1857 Berkeley Cryptog. Bot. §172. 195 Distinguished by their almost constant production of tetrasporic, instead of polysporic, moniliform threads. 1874 Cooke Fungi 26 [He] has demonstrated that they are habitually tetrasporous. |