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Glite Dictionary
🫁 Organ entry point 🌱 Seed scar
hilum

hilum

9.9
A small mark on a seed showing where it was attached to the plant
  • noun
  • /ˈhaɪləm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : hilum
  • The hilum of the seed is where it was attached to the parent plant.

Examples

  • "Differently sized kidney-shaped forms are sometimes visible near the watermarks, either above or below the lily, with the "hilum" facing here left, there right.

    Academic text (1995)

  • When studying seeds, the hilum provides important clues about their development.

  • Botanists often examine the hilum to determine the plant's variety.

Surface Forms

hilum singular
hilums plural

Etymology

Hilum comes from a Latin word meaning 'small thing' or 'little mark'. So the seed hilum is the tiny spot that shows where the seed was attached to the plant, which explains the modern meaning.