re·cep·ta·cle / riˈseptikəl/ • n. 1. an object or space used to contain something: trash receptacles. ∎  chiefly Zool. an organ or structure that receives a secretion, eggs, sperm, etc. ∎  an electrical outlet into which the plug of an electrical device may be inserted.2. Bot. an enlarged area at the apex of a stem that bears the organs of a flower or the florets of a flowerhead. ∎  a structure supporting the sexual organs in some algae, mosses, and liverworts.

receptacle
1. That part of the stem from which all the parts of the flower arise
.
2. In Compositae, the flattened tip of the stem that bears the bracts and florets
.
3. In thallophytes, one of the swellings at the tips of the branches of the thallus which mark the positions of the chambers (conceptacles) in which the reproductive organs develop.

receptacle
1. (thalamus or torus) The tip of a flower stalk, which bears the petals, sepals, stamens, and carpels. The way the receptacle develops determines the position of the flower parts. It can be dilated and dome-shaped, saucer-shaped, or hollow and enclosing the gynoecium (see epigyny; hypogyny; perigyny). In some plants it may become part of the fruit (see pseudocarp).

2. A swollen part of the thallus of some algae, e.g. Fucus, that bears the conceptacles in which the sex organs are situated.

receptacle Biological structure that serves as a container for reproductive cells or organs in plants. In flowering plants, the receptacle is the enlarged end of a stalk to which the flower is attached. In ferns, it is the mass of tissue that forms the sporangium (the spore-bearing organ). In some seaweeds, it is the part that seasonally becomes swollen and carries the reproductive organs.

receptacle XV. — (O)F. réceptacle or L. receptāculum, f. receptāre receive, f. recept-, pp. stem of recipere RECEIVE.