Jump to content

Hilum (biology)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Hilum (botany))
The hilum is the white region in the center of the namesake "black eye" of the black-eyed pea

In botany, a hilum (pronounced /ˈhləm/) is a scar or mark left on a seed coat by the former attachment to the ovary wall or to the funiculus (which in turn attaches to the ovary wall). On a bean seed, the hilum is called the "eye".

For some species of fungus, the hilum is the microscopic indentation left on a spore when it separates from the sterigma of the basidium.[1]

A hilum can also be a nucleus of a starch grain; the point around which layers of starch are deposited.

The adjectival form hilar denotes the presence of such a mark, and can be used as a distinguishing characteristic of a seed or spore.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Kirk PM, Cannon PF, Minter DW, Stalpers JA (2008). Dictionary of the Fungi (10th ed.). Wallingford, UK: CABI. p. 317. ISBN 978-0-85199-826-8.