substitute fibre
(US substitute fiber) Botany (now rare )
noun
A type of xylem fibre found in woody tissue, which consists of elongated, aseptate, partially lignified cells and is thought to form an intermediate between parenchyma (soft tissue) and tracheids.
Origin
Late 19th century; earliest use found in George Goodale (1839–1923). After German Ersatzfasern, plural noun.