PITH

Pith

Pith, or medulla, is a tissue in the stems of vascular plants. Pith is composed of soft, spongy parenchyma cells, which store and transport nutrients throughout the plant. In eudicots, pith is located in the center of the stem. In monocots, it extends also into flowering stems and roots. The pith is encircled by a ring of xylem; the xylem, in turn, is encircled by a ring of phloem.

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pith

Noun

  1. The soft spongy substance in the center of the stems of many plants and trees.
  2. The spongy interior substance of a feather.
  3. The spinal cord; the marrow.
  4. The essential or vital part.
    The pith of my idea is truth.

Verb

  1. To extract the pith from (a plant stem or tree).
  2. To kill (especially cattle or laboratory animals) by cutting or piercing the spinal cord.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: pith
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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