noun
- Plural of apothecium; cup-shaped or disk-shaped fruiting bodies in lichens and certain fungi that contain asci and produce spores.
Usage: biology; mycology; technical
Examples
- The lichen's apothecia were visible as small red disks on its surface.
- Under the microscope, the apothecia revealed rows of asci containing spores.
- Lichenologists identify species partly by the shape and color of their apothecia.
- The fungus produces apothecia during its reproductive stage.
- These apothecia release spores that disperse through the air.