sorus

Noun

WordNet 3.0

Noun (2)

  1. a spore-producing structure in certain lichens and fungi
  2. cluster of sporangia usually on underside of a fern frond
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Sorus \So"rus\, n.; pl. Sori. [NL., fr. Gr. ? a heap.]

1.(Bot.) One of the fruit dots, or small clusters of sporangia, on the back of the fronds of ferns. [1913 Webster]

2. (a) In parasitic fungi, any mass of spores bursting through the epidermis of a host plant. (b) In lichens, a heap of soredia on the thallus. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

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