Word.ws English Dictionary

elaiosome

elaiosome noun: a fleshy structure rich in lipids attached to the seeds of many plant species, usually to attract ants that disperse the seeds.

elaiosome: a fleshy structure rich in lipids attached to the seeds of many plant species, usually to attract...
Image: Erutuon, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

elaiosome (plural elaiosomes)

  1. A fleshy structure rich in lipids attached to the seeds of many plant species, usually to attract ants that disperse the seeds.
    • Ants collect the diaspores for the edible elaiosome, carry them to their nests and consume the elaiosomes. Sometimes, the elaiosome content is sucked from the diaspores, or the elaiosome is loosened on the way to the nest.1999, Karen van Rheede van Oudtshoorn, Margaretha W. van Rooyen, Dispersal Biology of Desert Plants, Springer, page 17
    • Experiments with removal of C.^([Corydalis]) cava seeds with elaiosomes ablated, and with paper balls, infiltrated with juices of seed bodies and elaiosomes, showed the crucial role of elaiosome content in the ant attraction.2003, Elena Gorb, Stanislav S. N. Gorb, “Seed Dispersal by Ants in a Deciduous Forest Ecosystem: Mechanisms, Strategies, Adaptations”, in Publications, Kluwer Academic, page 44

elaiosome meaning in Tamil

elaiosome in Tamil

நெய்யமெய்

Forms of elaiosome

pluralelaiosomes

Origin of elaiosome

Ancient Greek ἔλαιον (élaion, “olive oil”) + σῶμα (sôma, “body”).

Questions about elaiosome

What does elaiosome mean?
Elaiosome means a fleshy structure rich in lipids attached to the seeds of many plant species, usually to attract ants that disperse the seeds.
What is elaiosome in Tamil?
Elaiosome in Tamil is நெய்யமெய். See Elaiosome meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is elaiosome?
Elaiosome is a noun.
What is the plural of elaiosome?
The plural of elaiosome is elaiosomes.

Words near elaiosome in the dictionary

  1. elaiophore
  2. elaiophores
  3. elaiophylin
  4. elaioplast
  5. elaioplasts
  6. elaiosome
  7. elaiosomes
  8. elaliite
  9. Elam
  10. Elam ending
  11. Elam endings

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: elaiosome (page history and authors); elaiosome (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “elaiosome.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/elaiosome. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.