apothecium
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əˈθiBased on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
apothecium (ˌæpəˈθiːsɪəm) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n , pl -cia | |
| botany a cup-shaped structure that contains the asci, esp in lichens; a type of ascocarp | |
| [C19: from New Latin, from | |
| apothecial | |
| —adj | |
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| apothecium (āp'ə-thē'sē-əm, -shē-) Pronunciation Key
Plural apothecia (āp'ə-thē'sē-ə, -shē-) A disk-shaped or cup-shaped ascocarp of some lichens and the fungi Ascomycetes. |
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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apothecium
fruiting structure of fungi of the phylum Ascomycota (kingdom Fungi). It arises from vegetative filaments (hyphae) after sexual reproduction has been initiated. The ascocarp (in forms called apothecium, cleistothecium [cleistocarp], or perithecium) contain saclike structures (asci) that usually bear four to eight ascospores. Apothecia are stalked and either disklike, saucer-shaped, or cup-shaped with exposed asci. The largest known apothecium, produced by Geopyxis cacabus, has a stalk 1 metre (40 inches) high and a cup 50 centimetres (20 inches) across. Cleistothecia are spherical and must rupture or disintegrate to release their ascospores. Perithecia are globular or flask-shaped with an apical opening for discharge of ascospores.
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