columella

Meaning

Noun

• Any of various small structures in plants or animals that are columnar in shape.
• The skin at the end of the septum which separates the nostrils.
• In birds, reptiles, and amphibians, the small bone which carries vibration from the tympanum to the inner ear.
• In gastropods, the structure at the center of the whorls of the shell.
• The structure at the center of the calyx where the septa join together.
• The central sterile portion of the sporangium in various fungi.
• A rod-shaped reinforcing element of the sexine layer of a pollen grain.

Origin

• From Latin columella ("small column").