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pileus

American  
[pahy-lee-uhs, pil-ee-] / ˈpaɪ li əs, ˈpɪl i- /

noun

pilei, plural pileus plural
  1. Mycology. the horizontal portion of a mushroom, bearing gills, tubes, etc., on its underside; a cap.

  2. Zoology.

    1. the umbrella or bell of a jellyfish.

    2. pileum.

  3. Also called cap cloud.  Also called scarf cloudMeteorology. a small, thin cloud just above or attached to a growing cumulus cloud.

  4. a felt skullcap worn by the ancient Romans and Greeks.


pileus British  
/ ˈpɪl-, ˈpaɪlɪəs /

noun

  1. the upper cap-shaped part of a mushroom or similar spore-producing body

"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

pileus Scientific  
/ pīlē-əs /
pilei plural
  1. The umbrellalike fruiting structure forming the top of a fleshy fungus. It is supported by the stipe. The cap of a mushroom is a pileus.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of pileus

1750–60; < New Latin, special use of Latin pīleus skullcap; akin to Greek pîlos felt, felt cap

Vocabulary lists containing pileus

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:

This species is unique for the dorsal attachment of its stipe to the top of the pileus, and the abundant cystidia covering all surfaces of the fruiting body.

From Salon Apr. 26, 2025

The reverse features two daggers on either side of a cap known as a pileus.

From New York Times Mar. 22, 2023

A cumulus, for example, might just be a cumulus; or it might be a cumulus fractus, if its edges are tattered; or a cumulus pileus, if a smaller cloud appears over it like a hood.

From New York Times May 4, 2016

P. 1-1.5 cm. resupinate, then reflexed, tomentose, white, attached by a very short incurved downy stem which disappears when the pileus turns over; g. radiating from an excentric point, distant, white then pink; sp.

From European Fungus Flora: Agaricaceae by Massee, George

Stem fleshy, fibrous externally; pileus fibrillose or scaly; gills sinuato-adnexed.

From European Fungus Flora: Agaricaceae by Massee, George

From the thirteenth century onwards pilei, and the overtopping tufts, were of various colours according to the faculties which it was intended to distinguish.

From The Customs of Old England by Snell, F. J. (Frederick John)

The flesh was somewhat lighter in color than the outside pilei, which extended horizontally from the tubercle.

From The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise Its Habitat and its Time of Growth by Hard, Miron Elisha

The pilei are pulvinate, narrow, zoned, often laterally confluent; ochraceous-white, tomentose, then smooth, laccate.

From The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise Its Habitat and its Time of Growth by Hard, Miron Elisha

Their radiately cracked pilei, with the inner substance showing yellow through the cracks, will help to distinguish the species.

From The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise Its Habitat and its Time of Growth by Hard, Miron Elisha

Figure 375 represents one of the pilei showing the spines.

From The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise Its Habitat and its Time of Growth by Hard, Miron Elisha

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