spadix

noun

Etymology: Via Latin spādīx from Ancient Greek σπᾱ́δῑξ (spā́dīx, “palm branch”).

1. A fleshy spike (inflorescence) with reduced flowers, usually enclosed by a spathe, characteristic of aroids.

   “The spadix of this plant is frequently quite white, or coloured, and the leaves liable to be streaked with white, and to have black, or scarlet blotches on them.”

2. A male sexual organ of certain cephalopods and hydrozoans (especially the nautilus), used to transfer sperm.

   “However, the shells of modern nautiluses show the opposite pattern—males are somewhat larger than females, with a wider aperture to accommodate the spadix.”