Spadix

Definitions

1. A fleshy spike (inflorescence) with reduced flowers, usually enclosed by a spathe, characteristic of aroids.
2. A male sexual organ of certain cephalopods and hydrozoans (especially the nautilus), used to transfer sperm.

Equivalents

Examples

“The spadix of this plant⟳ is frequently quite white, or coloured, and the leaves liable to be streaked with white, and to have⟳ black, or scarlet blotches on them.”

“However, the shells of modern nautiluses show⟳ the opposite pattern—males are somewhat larger than females, with a wider aperture to accommodate the spadix.”

CEFR level