fungi

Noun

Synonyms: Fungi kingdom Fungi fungus kingdom

WordNet 3.0

Noun (1)

the taxonomic kingdom including yeast, molds, smuts, mushrooms, and toadstools; distinct from the green plantsSynonyms: Fungi kingdom Fungi fungus kingdom

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Fungi \Fun"gi\ (f[u^]n"j[imac]), n. pl.; sing. fungus. (Biol.) A group of thallophytic plant-like organisms of low organization, destitute of chlorophyll, in which reproduction is mainly accomplished by means of asexual spores, which are produced in a great variety of ways, though sexual reproduction is known to occur in certain Phycomycetes, or so-called algal fungi. They include the molds, mildews, rusts, smuts, mushrooms, toadstools, puff balls, and the allies of each. In the two-kingdom classification system they were classed with the plants, but in the modern five-kingdom classification, they are not classed as plants, but are classed in their own separate kingdom fungi, which includes the phyla Zygomycota (including simple fungi such as bread molds), Ascomycota (including the yeasts), Basidiomycota (including the mushrooms, smuts, and rusts), and Deuteromycota (the fungi imperfecti). Some of the forms, such as the yeasts, appear as single-celled microorganisms, but all of the fungi are are eukaryotic, thus distinguishing them from the prokaryotic microorganisms of the kingdon Monera. [Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC]

Note: The Fungi appear to have originated by degeneration from various alg[ae], losing their chlorophyll on assuming a parasitic or saprophytic life. In an earlier classification they were divided into the subclasses Phycomycetes, the lower or algal fungi; the Mesomycetes, or intermediate fungi; and the Mycomycetes, or the higher fungi; by others into the Phycomycetes; the Ascomycetes, or sac-spore fungi; and the Basidiomycetes, or basidial-spore fungi. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

Fungus \Fun"gus\, n.; pl. L. Fungi, E. Funguses. [L., a mushroom; perh. akin to a doubtful Gr. ? sponge, for ?; if so, cf. E. sponge.]

1.(Bot.) Any one of the Fungi, a large and very complex group of thallophytes of low organization, -- the molds, mildews, rusts, smuts, mushrooms, toadstools, puff balls, and the allies of each. See fungi. [1913 Webster]

Note: The fungi are all destitute of chorophyll, and, therefore, to be supplied with elaborated nourishment, must live as saprophytes or parasites. They range in size from single microscopic cells to systems of entangled threads many feet in extent, which develop reproductive bodies as large as a man's head. The vegetative system consists of septate or rarely unseptate filaments called hyph[ae]; the aggregation of hyph[ae] into structures of more or less definite form is known as the mycelium. See Fungi, in the Supplement. [1913 Webster]

2.(Med.) A spongy, morbid growth or granulation in animal bodies, as the proud flesh of wounds. --Hoblyn. [1913 Webster]

Cryptogamia \Cryp`to*ga"mi*a\ (kr?p`t?-g?"m?-?), n.; pl. Cryptogami[ae] (-?). [NL., fr. Gr. krypto`s hidden, secret + ga`mos marriage.] (Bot.) The series or division of flowerless plants, or those never having true stamens and pistils, but propagated by spores of various kinds. [1913 Webster]

Note: The subdivisions have been variously arranged. The following arrangement recognizes four classes: -- I. Pteridophyta, or Vascular Acrogens.} These include Ferns, Equiseta or Scouring rushes, Lycopodiace[ae] or Club mosses, Selaginelle[ae], and several other smaller orders. Here belonged also the extinct coal plants called Lepidodendron, Sigillaria, and Calamites. II. Bryophita, or Cellular Acrogens. These include Musci, or Mosses, Hepatic[ae], or Scale mosses and Liverworts, and possibly Charace[ae], the Stoneworts. III. Alg[ae], which are divided into Floride[ae], the Red Seaweeds, and the orders Dictyote[ae], Oospore[ae], Zoospore[ae], Conjugat[ae], Diatomace[ae], and Cryptophyce[ae]. IV. Fungi. The molds, mildews, mushrooms, puffballs, etc., which are variously grouped into several subclasses and many orders. The Lichenes or Lichens are now considered to be of a mixed nature, each plant partly a Fungus and partly an Alga. [1913 Webster] Cryptogamic Cryptogamian