hypha

American  

[hahy-fuh] / ˈhaɪ fə /

noun

plural

hyphae

1. (in a fungus) one of the threadlike elements of the mycelium.

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hypha British  

/ ˈhaɪfə /

noun

1. any of the filaments that constitute the body (mycelium) of a fungus

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hypha Scientific  

/ hī′fə /

plural

hyphae

1. 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.

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Other Word Forms

• hyphal adjective

Etymology

Origin of hypha

1865–70; < New Latin < Greek hyphḗ web

Example Sentences

Tests with other organisms showed that the method can even replicate the root structure of fungi, called hyphae.

From Science Daily

To understand the reasons for different shapes of hyphae, Rojas and his colleagues combined theory and experiments to investigate fungi and water molds from across nature.

From Science Daily

Following the spore-covered body down into the soil, they found a mummified spider swaddled in fungal filaments called hyphae.

From Scientific American

For example, the greenhouse study they criticize also found that the majority of carbon flow was concentrated in fungal hyphae — indicating the fungi played a prominent, if not exclusive, role in connecting related seedlings.

From Washington Post

Researchers try to set up barriers between trees so that fungal hyphae and roots can’t connect them, leaving only the soil pathway as a possible means of transmission.

From Scientific American