4 syllables: Col, len, chy, ma. Stress on chy.
kuh-len-KEYE-muh
/kə.lɛnˈkaɪmə/
Collenchyma is pronounced kuh-len-KEYE-muh (/kə.lɛnˈkaɪmə/). It has four syllables (Col-len-chy-ma), with the stress on "chy". Collenchyma is a plant tissue composed of elongated cells with unevenly thickened cell walls, providing flexible support while allowing growth. It typically occurs in strands or cylinders just beneath the epidermis and is particularly prominent in young stems and leaf petioles. The term emphasizes a supportive, yet pliant, mechanical role in growing plant parts.
nounCollenchyma is a plant tissue composed of elongated cells with unevenly thickened cell walls, providing flexible support while allowing growth. It typically occurs in strands or cylinders just beneath the epidermis and is particularly prominent in young stems and leaf petioles. The term emphasizes a supportive, yet pliant, mechanical role in growing plant parts.
"The herbaceous stem showed a visible layer of collenchyma just beneath the epidermis."
"Researchers studied collenchyma fibers to understand how plants resist bending without cracking."
"In young shoots, collenchyma cells contribute to stability during rapid elongation."
You pronounce it kuh-LEN-khee-ma. The primary stress is on the second syllable. IPA: US /ˌkɒlˈɛn.kɪ.mə/ or /ˌkɒlˈɛn.kjə.mə/ depending on speaker; UK /ˌkɒlˈɛn.kɪ.mə/; AU similar: /ˌkɒlˈɛn.kɪ.mə/. Start with /k/ as in cat, then /ɒ/ (open back rounded), /l/ to the left, /ˈɛn/ with a clear short E, then /kɪ/ or /kjə/ feeding the vowel before /məh/. End with /mə/. Think “kuh-LEN-kih-ma.” Audio reference: consult Cambridge or Oxford online dictionaries for speaker audio.
Two common errors: (1) misplacing the stress on the first syllable instead of the second, making co-LEN-chy-ma or COL-len-chy-ma wrong stress; (2) mispronouncing the middle vowel, treating it as /kɒlɛnˈkaɪmə/ or /ˌkɒlˈɛnkɪmə/ with a long I or tricky diphthong. Correction: keep stress on EN (second syllable) and render the middle as /ɛn.kɪ/ with a short, clipped /ɪ/; finalize with /mə/. Use slow repetition to fix the rhythm.
In US and UK, the initial /k/ is the same, but the second syllable stress and quality of /ɛ/ differ slightly: US often /ˌkɒlˈɛn.kɪ.mə/ with a tighter /ɪ/; UK /ˌkɒlˈɛn.kɪ.mə/ tends to a shorter /ɪ/ and crisper /t/less; AU mirrors UK but can show more vowel rounding on /ɒ/ and slightly longer syllables. Overall variation is small, but you’ll notice rhoticity is negligible in this multi-syllable. Reference: dictionary audio.
The difficulty comes from three features: (1) multi-syllable structure with three consonant clusters and a morphologically subtle middle /ɛn/; (2) the 'ch' is pronounced as /k/ in this word, not /tʃ/ or /ʃ/; (3) subtle vowel length and reduced vowel in quick speech, especially in US where /ɪ/ may become a reduced schwa in fast speech. Practice by isolating syllables, then integrate: /kɒlˈɛn.kɪ.mə/.
A unique aspect is the combination of a strong second-syllable stress and a final unstressed -ma. Some learners mistakenly place stress on the third syllable or flatten the /ɛn/ to a schwa. Realistically, maintain secondary syllable emphasis, keep /ɛn/ clear, and ensure final /mə/ is light but audible. IPA guidance: /ˌkɒlˈɛn.kɪ.mə/.
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Collenchyma derives from the Latin collen-, meaning ‘neck’ or ‘knot’ (related to the thickened, band-like walls in the tissue) and -chyma, from Greek chymā, meaning ‘juice’ or ‘seed tissue’ but by extension ‘cell’, ‘tumor’, or ‘material’ in botany. The term was adopted in botanical morphology in the late 19th to early 20th centuries as microscopists distinguished plant tissues by wall thickness and elasticity. The root chym-, from Greek chyma, originally meant ‘juice’ as in semisolid contents within cells; when combined with collagen-like thickening described in encrusted cell walls, it denoted a cellular tissue with thickened walls. Over time, collenchyma signified a distinct, living tissue between parenchyma and sclerenchyma, recognized for its pliancy and support function in growing organs. First known use in botanical literature appears around the 1880s–1890s, with various botanists describing tissue types as part of plant anatomy catalogs; the term gradually stabilized in textbooks and compendia as a key tissue category in dicot stems and leaves.
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Words that rhyme with "Collenchyma"
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