hyphae
HY-fee
Definition
The branching, thread-like filaments that make up the main body of a fungus and form the networks connecting the roots of trees.
Etymology
Derived from the Greek word 'huphē', meaning 'web' or 'texture.' It was adopted into scientific English in the 19th century to describe the microscopic, thread-like strands found in fungal growth.
In the news
In the article, the author explains that fungal hyphae are the actual physical structures that allow carbon to move between trees, distinguishing this documented biological mechanism from unproven claims of deliberate communication.
Suzanne Simard's 1997 experiment really did find carbon moving between tree species through shared fungal threads, but the much more famous claim that grew from it, that mature trees deliberately send resources to their own offspring, has no peer-reviewe
Read the full article ↗ScienceBlog.com