noun
- A cup-shaped or disk-shaped fruiting body in lichens and certain fungi that contains asci and releases spores.
Usage: biology; mycology; lichenology
Examples
- The lichen's apothecium appeared as a small red disk on the rock surface.
- Under the microscope, the apothecium revealed numerous asci arranged in a layer.
- Lichenologists identify species partly by the shape and color of their apothecia.
- The apothecium is the reproductive structure where fungal spores are produced and dispersed.
- As the apothecium matured, it released millions of microscopic spores into the air.