Vimen

A vimen is the silica connection between adjacent virgae, separating the areolae within a stria. The plural is vimines.

The Latin words virga and vimen were chosen for these terms because the structure of many pennate diatoms with striae bears some resemblance to a woven basket. A virga (rod) is the stiffer material used for the ribs of the basket and a vimen (pliant twig) is the flexible material woven between the ribs (Cox and Ross 1981 p. 272).

During the morphogenesis of many pennate diatoms with striae, virgae and vimines join to create the network of gaps which become the areolae.

See also costa and virga.

Vimin
Image Credit: Figure adapted from Round et al. (1990).
Diagram of a valve in the early stages of silica deposition. Each red circle encloses a single vimen. Vimines are the connections between virgae.