alternate generation
noun1
Biology, Natural sciences Each of the two forms of an organism whose life cycle involves alternation of generations, or the fact of such alternation occurring in a given organism.
- If, instead of a single individual, several were to be thus developed metagenetically within a pre-existing form, the process would be called one of alternate generation.1868, Charles Darwin, The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication:
- On the female side, the alternate generation is a small collection of cells, called an embryo sac, that is hidden away deep inside the reproductive parts of the maple tree.2011, David Krough, Biology: A Guide to the Natural World, 5th edition, page 472:
- Related terms
- alternation of generations