Basidiomycete

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A classification of fungi notable for the production of spores on basidia, which play a crucial role in their sexual reproduction
2. A major category of fungi identified by their unique reproductive structures, specifically basidia, that bear spores for propagation
3. A distinct group of fungi characterized by their specialized reproductive cells called basidia, which are essential in the formation and distribution of spores for reproduction

Etymology: Basidiomycete is built from two parts. "Basidium" comes from Greek "basidion", a diminutive of "basis", meaning a little pedestal or base, and it names the club-shaped cell on which these fungi produce their spores. "Mycete" comes from Greek "mykes", meaning fungus. Put together, the name describes the fungi by their most distinctive feature. The basidium is the key to the group. Its spores are typically borne on tiny projections at the tip of the cell, usually four of them, which is why the cell looks like a little stand with spores perched on top. Mushrooms, puffballs, bracket fungi and rusts all belong to this group, so the same structure links fungi that look nothing alike to the eye.