[pa.ren.chy.ma] n [NL, fr. Gk, visceral flesh, fr. parenchein to pour in beside, fr. para- + en- en- + chein to pour--more at found] (1651) 1: a tissue of higher plants that consists of thin-walled living photosynthetic or storage cells capable of division even when mature and that makes up much of the substance of leaves and roots, the pulp of fruits, and parts of stems and supporting structures
2: the essential and distinctive tissue of an organ or an abnormal growth as distinguished from its supportive framework -- par.en.chy.ma.tous or pa.ren.chy.mal adj