The stalk or stem of a plant, especially the main stem supporting the leafy top of a fern, palm, or mushroom cap.
From Latin 'stipes' meaning 'log,' 'tree trunk,' or 'stem.' The word was adopted into botanical terminology to describe the supporting stem structure in various plants and fungi.
In mycology (mushroom science), the stipe is the fancy name for what you call the 'stem'—fungi actually developed their stipes totally independently from plants, which is wild because they evolved it by completely different means!
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