Myxomycetous

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Myxomycetes \Myx`o*my*ce"tes\, n. pl. [NL.; Gr. ? mucus, slime +
     myceles.] (Bot.)
     A class of peculiar organisms, the slime molds, formerly
     regarded as animals (Mycetozoa), but now generally thought to
     be plants and often separated as a distinct phylum
     (Myxophyta); essentially equivalent to the division


     Myxomycota. They are found on damp earth and decaying
     vegetable matter, and consist of naked masses of protoplasm,
     often of considerable size, which creep very slowly over the
     surface and ingest solid food. -- {Myx`o*my*ce"tous}, a.
  
     Syn: true slime molds, acellular slime molds, plasmodial
          slime molds.
          [Webster 1913 Suppl. + WordNet 1.5]