noun
- a sterile filament found among the reproductive organs in mosses, ferns, and fungi
Usage: botanical
Examples
- The paraphyses help protect the developing spores in the moss capsule.
- Under the microscope, we could see the paraphyses interspersed among the sporangia.
- The fungal fruiting body contained numerous paraphyses alongside the asci.
- Botanists use the presence of paraphyses to help identify different moss species.
- The paraphysis serves as a supportive structure in the reproductive apparatus.