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 ( see theca) + -ion diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

Such an ascocarp goes by the name of apothecium.

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

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

I have studied vegetation in all its mysteries—in the stalk, in the bud, in the sepal, in the stamen, in the carpel, in the ovule, in the spore, in the theca, and in the apothecium.

From The Man Who Laughs by Hugo, Victor

Piece of thallus of Parmelia conspersa, with section through an apothecium.

From The Elements of Botany For Beginners and For Schools by Gray, Asa