Hilum (biology)

The hilum is the white region in the center of the namesake "black eye" of the black-eyed pea

In botany, a hilum (pronounced /ˈhaɪləm/) is a scar or mark left on a seed coat by the former attachment to the ovary wall or to the funiculus (which in turn attaches to the ovary wall). On a bean seed, the hilum is called the "eye".

For some species of fungus, the hilum is the microscopic indentation left on a spore when it separates from the sterigma of the basidium.^[1]

A hilum can also be a nucleus of a starch grain; the point around which layers of starch are deposited.

The adjectival form hilar denotes the presence of such a mark, and can be used as a distinguishing characteristic of a seed or spore.

References

1. Kirk PM, Cannon PF, Minter DW, Stalpers JA (2008). Dictionary of the Fungi (10th ed.). Wallingford, UK: CABI. p. 317. ISBN 978-0-85199-826-8.