Teleomorph

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The sexual reproductive form of a fungus that belongs to a life cycle in which a different form was produced asexually
2. A fungal life-cycle stage capable of sexual reproduction, distinct from the asexual form of the same organism
3. The perfect, sexually reproducing state of a fungus whose asexual stage was previously named under a separate identity

Etymology: Teleomorph is built from two Greek elements. "Teleo-" comes from "telos", meaning "end" or "completion" (in the sense of a goal or fulfilment), and "-morph" comes from "morphe", meaning "form" or "shape". Put together, the word describes the form a thing takes at its completed stage. In mycology, the term names the sexual reproductive stage of a fungus, the phase in which spores are produced by the union of compatible nuclei. This matters because many fungi were long known under two different names, one for each life stage. Where a fungus appeared in both forms, the sexual stage was its teleomorph, and the asexual stage was its anamorph. The pairing of the two terms reflects how mycologists came to recognise that a single organism could present itself in two very different guises.

Antonyms: anamorph