Pyrenomycete

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of ascomycete fungus belonging to the group whose members produce flask-shaped fruiting bodies called perithecia
2. Any member of the fungal class characterized by spore-producing structures shaped like small flasks with a narrow opening
3. A sac fungus in the former class Pyrenomycetes, typically growing on wood, leaves or dung and releasing spores from flask-like cavities

Etymology: Greek "pyrēn" meant the hard stone or kernel inside a fruit, such as a plum's pit, and "mykēs" meant mushroom or fungus. Together they describe a group of fungi whose fruiting bodies are small, hard-walled flasks, which early observers likened to stony fruit kernels. It is a technical coinage built from classical roots, not a term any ancient Greek used for fungi. Later mycologists reorganized the fungi, and the name became a formal label for a class. That class is now more often called "sordariomycete," and "pyrenomycete" survives as a synonym, mainly in older texts.