apothecium

American  

[ap-uh-thee-shee-uhm, -see-] / ˌæp əˈθi ʃi əm, -si- /

noun

Botany, Mycology.

plural

apothecia

1. the fruit of certain lichens and fungi: usually an open, saucer-shaped or cup-shaped body, the inner surface of which is covered with a layer that bears asci.

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apothecium British  

/ ˌæpəˈθiːsɪəl, ˌæpəˈθiːsɪəm /

noun

1. botany a cup-shaped structure that contains the asci, esp in lichens; a type of ascocarp

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apothecium Scientific  

/ ăp′ə-thē′sē-əm,-shē- /

plural

apothecia

1. A disk-shaped or cup-shaped ascocarp of some lichens and the fungi Ascomycetes.

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Other Word Forms

• apothecial adjective

Etymology

Origin of apothecium

1820–30; < New Latin < Greek apo- apo- + thēkíon, equivalent to thḗk ( ē ) case ( theca ) + -ion diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

In the Helvellaceae there is no apothecium but a large irregular fruit body which at maturity bears the asci on its surface.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 3 "Frost" to "Fyzabad" by Various

Various types of ascocarp are characteristic of the different divisions of the Carpoascomycetes: the cleistothecium, apothecium and perithecium.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 3 "Frost" to "Fyzabad" by Various

B. simplex The disk of the apothecium white-pruinose 2.

From Ohio Biological Survey, Bull. 10, Vol. 11, No. 6 The Ascomycetes of Ohio IV and V by Hilker, Leafy Jane Corrington

Discomycetes, a large section of the ascomycetous Fungi, distinguished by the fact that the hymenium covers the surface of an open, disc-like or cup-shaped fruit-body called an apothecium.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 1: Deposition to Eberswalde by Various

Thē′cium, the part of the apothecium containing the organs of the fruit in lichens.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various