Without a thallus; lacking the distinctive vegetative body structure typical of certain organisms like lichens, fungi, or algae.
From the prefix 'a-' meaning without plus 'thalline' from 'thallus,' Latin for the plant body of fungi and algae. This botanical/mycological term describes organisms lacking this structure.
Most fungi and lichens have a thallus that lets you recognize them visually, but athalline varieties are basically the invisible fungi—you'd walk right past them without knowing they exist.
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