A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

Filum,-i (s.n.II), abl. sg. filo, nom. & acc. pl. fila: thread, strand, cord, filament of alga; see filament, ‘filament’ may be used of the vegetative filaments of Algae, but filum is only used for such filaments; a filamentous body [> L. filum,-i (s.n.II), “1. A single strand of yarn, a thread; a fine cord, string, thread; a cord of twisted threads used in magic; the wick (of a candle; a filament or thread spun by a spider; a thread-like part of a plant, e.g. pedicel (of a flower), filament (of a stamen), fibril (of a root); a vegetable fiber” (after Glare); cf. funiculus,-i (s.m.II); see filament; see thread;

- Usnea vulgaris, loris longis implexis. “Stringy Tree-Moss.” Quos vero villos vocat J. Bauhinus, fila sunt satis, crassa, invicem implexa & involuta (Dill.), Usnea vulgaris, with the [straps] long, intertangled. “The stringy tree-moss.” Those things which J. Bauhin calls villi [i.e. long, weak hairs] are filaments, this way and that interlaced and intricate.

- fila laxe intricata vel valde contorta vix flexilia haud sine ruptura extricanda, filaments loosely entangled or strongly twisted together scarcely pliant not without breaking to be unravelled. TO DO

- fila repentia irregulariter ramosa e cellulis oblongis composita, filaments creeping irregularly branched from cells oblong made up.

- thallus e disco basali et filis erectis constructus, thallus from a basal disc and erect filaments built up.

- discus basalis e filis repentibus coherentibus subdichotome divisis compositus, basal disc from filaments creeping cohering almost dichotomously divided made up.

- cellulis magnis olivaceis in filis minoribus unicis, in majoribus divisione peripherica cellulae primariae pluribus zonas transversales distinctas formantes, with cells large olive-green, in smaller filaments single, in larger ones by peripheral division of the primary cell several, forming transverse distinct zones (Stearn).

- filis leptoidibus, funiculis leptoidibus, with leptoid strands. me

- filo metallico similis, (adj.B, filum & metallicus in dat.sg.), like a metal thread, wire-like.

- filum centrale (adj.B), central strand (in the stems of mosses);

- filis leptoidibus, funiculis leptoidibus, with leptoid strands.

- carpella áptera v. alata, saepius a filo raphaeformi demum péndula (B&H), carpels wingless or winged, more often eventually pendulous from a raphiform strand.

- samarae 1-2, filo raphiformi pedicellatae (B&H), samaras 1-2, pedicellate with a raphiform thread.

- drupa baccatà, endocarpium osseum v. coriaceum hinc extus filo nerviformi (placenta filiformi ?) percursum apice pervium, funículo per foramen in cavitatem intromisso (B&H), drupe berrylike, the endocarpium bony or leathery run through from here externally with a nerviform thread (with a filiform placenta?) perforated in the apex, with a funiculus inserted through a foramen into a cavity.

NOTE: filamentum is used both for the filaments of stamens and the vegetative filaments of Algae, - filum only for the latter; cf. stamen (Stearn);

- [alga] fila simplicia, capillaria, oculo nudo satis conspicua, post copulationem minus mucosa, magisque crispata (Agardh), [vegetative filaments] simple [i.e. undivided or branched], hair-like, quite conspicuous to the naked eye, after copulation, less mucose and more crisped.

NOTE: fila succulenta (adj.A), succulent threads, “the jointed threads which are mixed with the antheridia in Mosses” (Lindley) = paraphyses; see paraphysis.

NOTE: (obs.) fila adductoria (adj.A): “the abortive pistillidia of Mosses” (Lindley); see pistillidium,-ii (s.n.II).

Pohlia filum, a moss with a slender, thread-like habit (noun in apposition).

Filum centrale (adj.B), abl. sg. filo centrali: the central strand, q.v. in the stems of mosses.