columella

American  

[kol-yuh-mel-uh] / ˌkɒl yəˈmɛl ə /

noun

Biology.

plural

columellae

1. 1. any of various small, columnlike structures of animals or plants; rod or axis.

   2. Mycology. a small central column of sterile tissue within the sporangium of certain fungi, liverworts, and mosses.

2. a small bone in the ear of amphibians, reptiles, and birds.

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columella British  

/ ˌkɒljʊˈmɛlə /

noun

1. biology

   1. the central part of the spore-producing body of some fungi and mosses

   2. any similar columnar structure

2. Also called: columella auris.  a small rodlike bone in the middle ear of frogs, reptiles, and birds that transmits sound to the inner ear: homologous to the mammalian stapes

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Other Word Forms

• columellar
  adjective
• columellate
  adjective
• postcolumellar
  adjective
• pseudocolumellar
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of columella

1575–85; < Latin: small column, equivalent to colum- (variant of column-, stem of columna column ) + -ella -elle

Example Sentences

Capsule globular, 5-celled, 5-valved; the many-seeded placentæ borne on the summit or middle of the columella.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa

It is the cartilagenous part of the columella that connects with the external sound detecting mechanism.

From A Revision of Snakes of the Genus Conophis (Family Colubridae, from Middle America) by Wellman, John

The columella is a long, thin bony rod that terminates posteriorly in cartilage.

From A Revision of Snakes of the Genus Conophis (Family Colubridae, from Middle America) by Wellman, John

Capsule ovoid or globular, 4–5-celled, 4–5-valved, the valves 2-cleft; placentæ many-seeded, pendulous from the summit of the columella.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa

The hyph� are thicker than the spores and branched, continuous with the slightly cellular base, and forming a columella inside the peridium.

From Student's Hand-book of Mushrooms of America, Edible and Poisonous by Taylor, Thomas