Phycomycetous

1 definition found

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

  Phycomycetes \Phy`co*my*ce"tes\, n. pl. [NL.; Gr. fy^kos seaweed
     + mycetes.] (Bot.)
     A large, important class of parasitic or saprophytic fungi,
     the algal or algalike fungi. The plant body ranges from an
     undifferentiated mass of protoplasm to a well-developed and
     much-branched mycelium. Reproduction is mainly sexual, by the


     formation of conidia or sporangia; but the group shows every
     form of transition from this method through simple
     conjugation to perfect sexual reproduction by egg and sperm
     in the higher forms. -- {Phy`co*my*ce"tous}, a.
     [Webster 1913 Suppl.]