Pyxidium

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Pyxidium \Pyx*id"i*um\, n.; pl. {Pyxidia}. [NL., fr. Gr. ?, dim.
     a ? a box. See {Pyx}.] (Bot.)
     (a) A pod which divides circularly into an upper and lower
         half, of which the former acts as a kind of lid, as in
         the pimpernel and purslane.
     (b) The theca of mosses.


         [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  pyxidium
       n : fruit of such plants as the plantain; a capsule whose upper
           part falls off when the seeds are released [syn: {pyxis}]
       [also: {pyxidia} (pl)]