STIPE

[stipe] n [NL stipes, fr. L, tree trunk; akin to L stipare to press together--more at stiff] (1785): a usu. short plant stalk: as a: the stem supporting the cap of a fungus b: a part that is similar to a stipe and connects the holdfast and blade of a frondose alga c: the petiole of a fern frond d: a prolongation of the receptacle beneath the ovary of a seed plant -- stiped adj