basidium

[buh-sid-ee-uhm]

noun

Mycology.

plural

basidia 

1. a special form of sporophore, characteristic of basidiomycetous fungi, on which the sexual spores are borne, usually at the tips of slender projections.

basidium

/ bæˈsɪdɪəm /

noun

1. the structure, produced by basidiomycetous fungi after sexual reproduction, in which spores are formed at the tips of projecting slender stalks

basidium

plural

basidia 

1. 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.

Other Word Forms

• basidial adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of basidium¹

First recorded in 1855–60; bas(is) + -idium

Word History and Origins

Origin of basidium¹

C19: from New Latin, from Greek basidion ; see _basis , _-ium

Example Sentences

This conjugate condition is finally brought to a close by the nuclear fusion in the basidium.

From Project Gutenberg

Exobasidiine�, a family of parasitic basidiomycetous Fungi, resembling the Exoascine� in most respects, but producing basidia in place of asci, a remarkable instance of parallel evolution.

From Project Gutenberg

They are characterized by their principal spores being produced externally, usually in fours, upon an organ called a basidium.

From Project Gutenberg

Ascomycetes.—In the plants of this family the spores are not supported upon basidia, but instead are enclosed in minute sacs or asci formed from the fertile cells of a hymenium.

From Project Gutenberg

All parts of these reddish individuals seemed more or less infected with this disintegration, the basidia divided by transverse diaphragms into several cylindrical or oblong pieces, which finally become free.

From Project Gutenberg