fruiting body

American  

noun

1. an organ that produces spores; fructification.

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fruiting body British  

noun

1. Also: fruit body.  the part of a fungus in which the spores are produced

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fruiting body Scientific  

/ fro̅o̅′tĭng /

1. A specialized spore-producing structure, especially of a fungus. A mushroom is the fruiting body of a fungus.

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Etymology

Origin of fruiting body

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fruiting body

Taczanowskia waska closely resembles the fruiting body of fungi in the genus Gibellula, which grow on spiders.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 17, 2026

Meghan Markle recently spoke of using nonpsychedelic mushroom supplements to manage anxiety and stress, while across the pond, singer Ellie Goulding just launched her own business, specializing in mushroom lattes made of fruiting body extracts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2025

"I was surprised to see the unusually cube-shaped ice formations on the fruiting body of this slime mould. This shot is comprised of 87 focus-bracketed images, focus-stacked together."

From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2024

Spores from these fungi latch onto and kill their insect or arachnid prey—and then a fruiting body bursts from the corpse to spread more spores.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 1, 2023

A splendid stalk is raised, with a fruiting body on top, and out of this comes the next generation of amebocytes, ready to swim across the same moist ground, solitary and ambitious.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas