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sclerenchyma

American  
[skli-reng-kuh-muh] / sklɪˈrɛŋ kə mə /

noun

Botany.

  1. supporting or protective tissue composed of thickened, dry, and hardened cells.

sclerenchyma British  
/ sklɪəˈrɛŋkɪmə, ˌsklɪərɛŋˈkɪmətəs /

noun

  1. a supporting tissue in plants consisting of dead cells with very thick lignified walls

"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
sclerenchyma Scientific  
/ sklə-rĕng′kə-mə /

  1. A supportive tissue of vascular plants, consisting of thick-walled, usually lignified cells. Sclerenchyma cells normally die upon reaching maturity but continue to fulfill their structural purpose in the plant. There are two types of sclerenchyma cells: fiber cells and sclereids.

  2. Compare collenchyma parenchyma

Other Word Forms

  • sclerenchymatous adjective

Etymology

Origin of sclerenchyma

First recorded in 1860–65; scler- + (par)enchyma

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.