thallus

thal·lus  (thls)

n. pl. thal·li (thl) or thal·lus·es

A plant body undifferentiated into stem, root, or leaf.

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[Latin, green stalk, from Greek thallos, from thallein, to sprout.]

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thallus  (thls)

Plural thalli (thl)

A type of body found among plants and fungi that is not differentiated into roots, stems, or leaves. Thalli are found among lichens, mosses, liverworts, and many algae, as well as the gametophyte generations of horsetails and ferns, which have rhizoids but not true roots.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

thallus - a plant body without true stems or roots or leaves or vascular system; characteristic of the thallophytes crustose thallus - thin crusty lichen thallus; adheres closely to or is embedded in the surface on which it grows plant part, plant structure - any part of a plant or fungus