In botany, the portion of a flower's receptacle that bears the anthers and other reproductive structures, or a specialized stem segment.
From Greek anthos 'flower' + phoreos 'bearing' (from pherein 'to carry'), literally meaning 'anther-bearer' or 'structure that carries flower parts'.
The -phore suffix (-bearing) appears throughout biology: anthrophore carries anthers, chlorophore carries chlorophyll, semaphore carries signs. It's a linguistic pattern that reveals how scientists build descriptions of what structures 'carry' or 'bear'.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.