basidium

American  

[buh-sid-ee-uhm] / bəˈsɪd i əm /

noun

Mycology.

basidia plural

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

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basidium British  

/ bæˈsɪdɪəm /

noun

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

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basidium Scientific  

/ bə-sĭd′ē-əm /

basidia plural

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.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• basidial
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• basidia
  plural

Etymology

Origin of basidium

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

basidium basidia

A basidium is the fruiting body of a mushroom-producing fungus, and it forms four basidiocarps.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

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

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 3 Atrebates to Bedlis by Various

Between the nuclear association and the nuclear fusion in the basidium many thousands of cell generations may be intercalated.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 3 "Frost" to "Fyzabad" by Various

C, A basidium before the four nuclei derived from the secondary nucleus of the basidium have passed into the four basidiospores.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 3 "Frost" to "Fyzabad" by Various

There is also a further reduction in that the basidium is not derived from a teleutospore but is borne directly on the mycelium.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 3 "Frost" to "Fyzabad" by Various

Gills on the underside of the mushroom cap contain cells called basidia.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

The basidiocarp bears the developing basidia on the gills under its cap.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

The “gills” are actually compacted hyphae on which the basidia are borne.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

The basidia undergo karyogamy to form a 2n zygote.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

The spores are borne on basidia as explained in Figure 2, page 6.

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