PARAPHYSIS

[pa.raph.y.sis] n, pl -y.ses [NL, fr. Gk, sucker, offshoot, fr. paraphyein to produce at the side, fr. para- + phyein to bring forth--more at be] (1857): one of the slender sterile filaments borne among the sporogenous or gametogenous organs in cryptogamic plants