botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

, the receptacle refers to vegetative tissues near the end of reproductive stems that are situated below or encase the reproductive organs.

Angiosperms

angiosperms Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants ...

, the receptacle or torus (an older term is thalamus, as in

Thalamiflorae ''Thalamiflorae'' is a historical grouping of dicotyledons, arranged in the De Candolle system and in the Bentham and Hooker system. This group was named and published well before internationally accepted rules for botanical nomenclature. In these ...

) is the thickened part of a stem (pedicel) from which the

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...

organs grow. In some accessory fruits, for example the pome and

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

, the receptacle gives rise to the edible part of the fruit. The fruit of ''

Rubus ''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, with over 1,350 species. Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of the ...

'' species is a

cluster may refer to: Science and technology Astronomy * Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft * Asteroid cluster, a small asteroid family * Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study th ...

of drupelets on top of a conical receptacle. When a raspberry is picked, the receptacle separates from the fruit, but in blackberries, it remains attached to the fruit. — In the Daisy family (Compositae or Asteraceae), small individual flowers are arranged on a round or dome-like structure that is also called receptacle.

Algae and bryophyta

In phycology, receptacles occur at the ends of branches of

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular micr ...

mainly in the brown algae or Heterokontophyta in the

Order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

Fucales. They are specialised structures which contain the reproductive organs called

conceptacle Conceptacles are specialized cavities of marine and freshwater algae that contain the reproductive organs. They are situated in the receptacle and open by a small ostiole.Boney, A.D. (1969). ''A Biology of Marine Algae''. Hutchinson Educational Lt ...

s.Fletcher, R.L. (1987). ''Seaweeds of the British Isles.'' Volume 3, Part 1. Natural History Museum, London. Receptacles also function as a structure that captures food.

References

{{botany Plant morphology Algal anatomy