basidiomycete

[ buh-sid-ee-oh-mahy-seet, -mahy-seet ]

noun
  1. Mycology. any of a group of fungi constituting the phylum Basidiomycota of the kingdom Fungi (or, in older classification schemes, the class Basidiomycetes of the kingdom Plantae), characterized by bearing the spores on a basidium, including the smuts, rust, mushrooms, and puffballs.

Origin of basidiomycete

1
1895–1900; <New Latin Basidiomycetes;see basidium, -o-, -mycete

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How to use basidiomycete in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for basidiomycete

basidiomycete

/ (bæˌsɪdɪəʊmaɪˈsiːt) /


noun
  1. any fungus of the phylum Basidiomycota (formerly class Basidiomycetes), in which the spores are produced in basidia. The group includes boletes, puffballs, smuts, and rusts

Origin of basidiomycete

1
C19: from basidi (um) + -mycete

Derived forms of basidiomycete

  • basidiomycetous, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for basidiomycete

basidiomycete

[ bə-sĭd′ē-ō-mīsēt′ ]


  1. Any of various fungi belonging to the phylum Basidomycota, bearing sexually produced spores on a basidium. All hyphae of basidiomycetes are divided into segments by septa and go through three stages of development. In the final stage, each segment has two nuclei, and the hyphae grow to produce basidia and disperse basidiospores. The basidiomycetes are the most familiar forms of fungi and include mushrooms, puffballs, shelf fungi, rusts, and smuts.

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