a leaf on which the microspores are formed: corresponds to the stamen of a flowering plant
Compare megasporophyll
Word origin
C19: from micro- + sporophyll
microsporophyll in American English
(ˌmaɪkroʊˈspɔrəˌfɪl)
noun
a sporophyll bearing only microsporangia
microsporophyll in American English
(ˌmaikrəˈspɔrəfɪl, -ˈspour-)
noun
Botany
a leaflike organ bearing microsporangia
Word origin
[1890–95; micro- + sporophyll]This word is first recorded in the period 1890–95. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: bootstrap, historicism, honky-tonk, phoneme, pogeymicro- is a combining form with the meanings “small” (microcosm; microgamete), “very small in comparison with others of its kind” (microcomputer; microlith), “too small to be seen by the unaided eye” (microfossil; microorganism), “dealing with extremely minute organisms, organic structures, or quantities ofa substance” (microdissection; microscope), “localized, restricted in scope or area” (microburst; microhabitat), “(of a discipline) focusing on a restricted area” (microeconomics), “containing or dealing with texts that require enlargement to be read” (microfilm; microreader), “one millionth” (microgram)