hyalonema

1 definition found

hyalonema - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Hyalonema \Hy`a*lo*ne"ma\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. "y`alos glass + ? a
     thread.] (Zool.)
     A genus of hexactinelline sponges, having a long stem
     composed of very long, slender, transparent, siliceous fibres
     twisted together like the strands of a color. The stem of the
     Japanese species (Hyalonema Sieboldii), called
     glass-rope, has long been in use as an ornament. See
     Glass-rope.
     [1913 Webster]