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

One hypha has a round sporangium, about 35 microns in diameter, at the tip.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

Other asexual spores originate in the fragmentation of a hypha to form single cells that are released as spores; some of these have a thick wall surrounding the fragment.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

Conidiospores are unicellular or multicellular spores that are released directly from the tip or side of the hypha.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

Although individual hypha must be observed under a microscope, the mycelium of a fungus can be very large with some species truly being “the fungus humongous.”

From Textbooks • Apr. 25, 2013

A protuberance then grows out from one side of the sphere, and rapidly increasing in length, assumes the character of a hypha.

From Discourses Biological and Geological Essays by Huxley, Thomas Henry