hypha
(in a fungus) one of the threadlike elements of the mycelium.
Origin of hypha
1Other words from hypha
- hyphal, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use hypha in a sentence
A section through the cortex of Peltigera canina, showing its relation to the medullary hyphae.
Ohio Biological Survey, Bull. 10, Vol. 11, No. 6 | Bruce Fink and Leafy J. CorringtonThe interwoven hyphae fuse and branch copiously, filling up all interstices.
Fibre-like hyphae with the lumen almost obliterated by the thick walls occur in mycelial cords (Merulius).
The term “receptacle” sometimes applied to these spore-bearing hyphae is better replaced by sporophore.
They are often devoid of hyphae, or put forth fine protoplasmic filaments into the cells of their hosts.
British Dictionary definitions for hypha
/ (ˈhaɪfə) /
any of the filaments that constitute the body (mycelium) of a fungus
Origin of hypha
1Derived forms of hypha
- hyphal, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for hypha
[ hī′fə ]
One of the long slender tubes that develop from germinated spores and form the structural parts of the body of a fungus. In many species of fungi, hyphae are divided into sections by cross walls called septa. Each section contains at least one haploid nucleus, and the septa usually have perforations that allow cytoplasm to flow through the hypha. A large mass of hyphae is known as a mycelium, which is the growing form of most fungi. From time to time, hyphae develop reproductive structures that are partitioned from the hypha by holeless septa. In many species, these structures are microscopic; in others, they are visible and large. Mushrooms and shelf fungi are visible reproductive structures of fungi.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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