1.
[syn: Sclerotium, genus Sclerotium]
2. compact usually dark-colored mass of hardened mycelium constituting a vegetative food-storage body in various true fungi; detaches when mature and can give rise to new growth;
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Sclerotium \Scle*ro"ti*um\, n.; pl. Sclerotia. [NL., fr. Gr.
sklhro`s hard.]
1. (Bot.) A hardened body formed by certain fungi, as by the
Claviceps purpurea, which produces ergot.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Zool.) The mature or resting stage of a plasmodium.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
Sclerotium
n 1: form genus of sterile imperfect fungi; many form sclerotia;
some cause sclerotium disease in plants [syn: Sclerotium,
genus Sclerotium]
2: compact usually dark-colored mass of hardened mycelium
constituting a vegetative food-storage body in various true
fungi; detaches when mature and can give rise to new growth