gemmule

• the physically discrete element that Darwin proposed as responsible for heredity
• A little leaf bud, as the plumule between the cotyledons
• One of the buds of mosses
• One of the reproductive spores of algae
• An ovule
• A bud produced in generation by gemmation
• One of the imaginary granules or atoms which, according to Darwin´s hypothesis of pangenesis, are continually being thrown off from every cell or unit, and circulate freely throughout the system, and when supplied with proper nutriment multiply by self-division and ultimately develop into cells like those from which they were derived. They are supposed to be transmitted from the parent to the offspring, but are often transmitted in a dormant state during many generations and are then developed

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