∞ generated and posted on 2016.08.31 ∞
Products of filamentous cellular growth, that is, cells that are much longer than they are wide.
The singular for hyphae is hypha and hyphae are often found in tangled masses known as mycelia. The utility of existing as hyphae is that it is a cell shape that serves to maximize surface-to-volume ratios, which particularly is the case when cells are otherwise thin in diameter.
This maximization of absorptive area makes great sense in the case of fungi as well as well as various soil bacteria that display similar growth since the means by which these organisms "make a living" is by absorbing nutrients from their immediate surroundings such that the more plasma membrane they possess the more nutrients they can take up per unit time.
The following video shows hyphal growth, most appreciable early on in this short video:
The following video shows bread mold hyphae formation, but with poor sound and video quality: