Columella (in plants) is an axis of sterile tissue which passes through the center of the spore-case of mosses.[1] In fungi, it refers to a centrally vacuolated part of a hypha, bearing spores. The word finds analogous usage in myxomycetes.[citation needed]
The term columella is also used to refer to story 1 to story 4 (S1 – S4) cells in the root cap, located apically of the quiescent centre.[citation needed] In vascular plants, columella tissue helps the roots to perceive gravity. Within columella cells, the amyloplasts and Golgi apparatus organelles tend to fall to the bottom third of the cell.[2]