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false branching

noun

Definition of false branching

: a branched arrangement of the cells of certain filamentous bacteria and algae resulting from a slipping of the end of one cell past that of another following cell division, from continued growth of the free end of a trichome through the sheath in various blue-green algae, or especially from continued growth of parts of a filament separated by one or more intervening dead cells or by heterocysts — compare true branching

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