alternate generation

plural alternate generations

1. biologyEach of the two forms of an organism whose life cycle involves alternation of generations, or the fact of such alternation occurring in a given organism.First known use 19th c.

   If, instead of a single individual, several were to be thus developed metagenetically within a pre-existing form, the process would be called one of alternate generation.

   1868, Charles Darwin, The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication

   1 more example

   On the female side, the alternate generation is a small collection of cells, called an embryo sac, that is hidden away deep inside the reproductive parts of the maple tree.

   2011, David Krough, Biology: A Guide to the Natural World, 5th edition, page 472