rhizo-, rhiz-

A slender rootlike outgrowth or filament on an alga or a fungus: Rhizoids are found on mosses, liverworts, and the reproductive cells of ferns that absorb nourishment in much the same way as a root.

1. A structure in some pathogenic fungi that allows them to move from host to host.
2. A branched strand of fungus that looks like a root.
3. A dense mass of any of the threadlike filaments forming a root-like structure characteristic of many fungi.

A reference to a bundle of root forms that function as a single structure, carrying the fungus across substrates or the nonliving material or base on which an organism lives or grows like a root through soil.

Having the form of a root or root-like.

An organism that grows on roots: The rhizobium is a rhizophile that nurish itself on the nodules of roots and provide nitrogen for the plants.

1. The area of soil that immediately surrounds and is affected by a plant's roots.
2. The soil region subject to the influence of plant roots and their associated microorganisms.