conidium

American  

[koh-nid-ee-uhm, kuh-] / koʊˈnɪd i əm, kə- /

noun

Botany.

plural

conidia

1. (in fungi) an asexual spore formed by abstriction at the top of a hyphal branch.

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conidium British  

/ kəʊˈnɪdɪəm /

noun

1. an asexual spore formed at the tip of a specialized hypha (conidiophore) in fungi such as Penicillium

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conidium Scientific  

/ kə-nĭd′ē-əm /

plural

conidia

1. An asexually produced fungal spore, formed on a conidiophore. Most conidia are dispersed by the wind and can endure extremes of cold, heat, and dryness. When conditions are favorable, they germinate and grow into hyphae.

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Other Word Forms

• conidial adjective
• conidian adjective

Etymology

Origin of conidium

1865–70; < Greek kón ( is ) dust (akin to incinerate ) + -idium

Example Sentences

These threads are hollow, and rarely septate; the upper portion divided into numerous branches, and these again are subdivided, the ultimate ramuli each terminated by a single conidium.

From Fungi: Their Nature and Uses by Cooke, M. C. (Mordecai Cubitt)

Lastly, there is a third mode of germination which the conidia of P. infestans manifest, and which consists in the conidium emitting from its summit a simple or branched germ-tube.

From Fungi: Their Nature and Uses by Cooke, M. C. (Mordecai Cubitt)

A short time after the appearance of the vacuoles the entire conidium extends itself so that the papilla disappears.

From Fungi: Their Nature and Uses by Cooke, M. C. (Mordecai Cubitt)

Aspergillus glaucus; b. conidia; c. germinating conidium; d. conceptacle of Eurotium; e. ascus.

From Fungi: Their Nature and Uses by Cooke, M. C. (Mordecai Cubitt)

Then it isolates itself from the germ-tube by a septum, and takes all the essential characteristics of the parent conidium.

From Fungi: Their Nature and Uses by Cooke, M. C. (Mordecai Cubitt)