basidium
[buh-sid-ee-uh m]
- a special form of sporophore, characteristic of basidiomycetous fungi, on which the sexual spores are borne, usually at the tips of slender projections.
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Origin of basidium
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for basidium
Historical Examples
Basidium, the characteristic spore-producing organ of the Basidiomycetes.
They are characterized by their principal spores being produced externally, usually in fours, upon an organ called a basidium.
Conidia (basidiospores) borne in fours on a special conidiophore, the basidium.
Life-history always very simple, no well-marked alternation of generations; basidium borne directly on the mycelium.
Between the nuclear association and the nuclear fusion in the basidium many thousands of cell generations may be intercalated.
basidium
- the structure, produced by basidiomycetous fungi after sexual reproduction, in which spores are formed at the tips of projecting slender stalks
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Word Origin
C19: from New Latin, from Greek basidion; see basis, -ium
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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basidium
(bə-sĭd′ē-əm)- A small club-shaped structure that typically bears four spores at the tips of minute projections, is unique to Basidiomycetes, and is used as a distinguishing characteristic.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
basidium
[bə-sĭd′ē-əm]
- A small, specialized, club-shaped structure typically bearing four basidiospores at the tips of minute projections in the fungi known as basidiomycetes. The basidium is unique to basidiomycetes and distinguishes them from other kinds of fungi.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.