different between elaiosome vs caruncle

English

Etymology

Ancient Greek ?????? (élaion, “olive oil”) + ???? (sóma, “body”).

Noun

elaiosome (plural elaiosomes)

1. (botany) A fleshy structure rich in lipids attached to the seeds of many plant species, usually to attract ants that disperse the seeds.
   • 1999, Karen van Rheede van Oudtshoorn, Margaretha W. van Rooyen, Dispersal Biology of Desert Plants, Springer, page 17,

     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.

   • 2003, Elena Gorb, Stanislav S. N. Gorb, Seed Dispersal by Ants in a Deciduous Forest Ecosystem: Mechanisms, Strategies, Adaptations, Kluwer Academic Publications, page 44,

     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.

   • 2007, Victor Rico-Gray, Paulo S. Oliveira, The Ecology and Evolution of Ant-Plant Interactions, University of Chicago Press, page 47,

     Elaiosomes also vary in size, and ants in many instances preferentially disperse diaspores with the greatest elaiosome/diaspore mass ratio, although plants produce seeds of different sizes, allowing for a variety of ants to effect their dispersal

Hyponyms

• caruncle

Translations

See also

• diaspore
• myrmecochory

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French caruncule, from Latin caruncula (“a little piece of flesh”), diminutive of car? (“flesh”). Doublet of caruncula.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?ka.???.k?l/, /?ka.???.kl?/, /k?????.k?l/, /k?????.kl?/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?k?????.k?l/, /?kæ????.k?l/, /k?????.k?l/
• Rhymes: -æ???k?l, -??k?l

Noun

caruncle (plural caruncles)

1. (anatomy, zootomy) A small, fleshy excrescence that is a normal part of an animal's anatomy.

   Coordinate terms: comb, cockscomb, crest, snood, wattle

   Hyponym: lacrimal caruncle

2. (anatomy) Clipping of lacrimal caruncle: the red prominence at the inner corner of the eye.
3. (botany) A colored waxy or oily outgrowth near the micropyle of some seeds, attractive to ants which aid the seed's dispersal.

   Synonym: elaiosome

Derived terms

• carunclectomy
• caruncular
• carunculate
• intercaruncle

Translations

See also

• dewlap
• frill

References

• “caruncle”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.
• “caruncle”, in Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary, (Please provide a date or year).