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hymenium

American  
[hahy-mee-nee-uhm] / haɪˈmi ni əm /

noun

Mycology.
  • hymenia
    plural
  1. the sporogenous layer in a fungus, composed of asci or basidia often interspersed with various sterile structures, as paraphyses.


hymenium British  
/ haɪˈmiːnɪəm /

noun

  1. (in basidiomycetous and ascomycetous fungi) a layer of cells some of which produce the spores

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

hymenium Scientific  
/ hī-mēnē-əm /
  • hymenia
    plural
  1. The spore-bearing layer of the fruiting body of certain fungi, containing asci or basidia.


Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of hymenium

From New Latin, dating back to 1820–30; see origin at hymen, -ium

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

The shroom has fine, fuzzy hairs that feel like velvet and even has teeth-like structures of its own, also known as hymenium, which are spore-bearing surfaces of a mushroom, typically gills.

From Salon Apr. 30, 2023

Whatever form the fungus assumes, the hymenium covers the whole exposed surface.

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

After the fungus has been soaked in water, where that is necessary, and the hymenium extracted on the point of a penknife, let it be transferred to the centre of a clean glass slide.

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

The tubes are little cylinders, long or short, pressed one against another, forming by their union a layer on the under surface of the cap, and the sporiferous membrane or hymenium lines their inner walls.

From Student's Hand-book of Mushrooms of America, Edible and Poisonous by Thomas Taylor

In another case, and amongst more aged fungi, the hymenium of which had ceased to give light, the stipe, on the contrary, threw out a brilliant glare.

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

Other cells called cystidia occur in the hymenia of various species distributed through nearly all the genera of the agarics.

From Studies of American Fungi. Mushrooms, Edible, Poisonous, etc. by George Francis Atkinson

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