Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Basidiomycetes"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Basidiomycetes \Ba*sid`i*o*my*ce"tes\, n. pl. [NL., fr. NL. & E.
basidium + Gr. ?, ?, fungus.] (Bot.)
A large subdivision of fungi co["o]rdinate with the
{Ascomycetes}, characterized by having the spores borne on a
basidium. It embraces those fungi best known to the public,
such as mushrooms, toadstools, etc.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Fungi \Fun"gi\, n. pl. (Bot.)
A group of thallophytic plants of low organization, destitute
of chlorophyll, in which reproduction is mainly accomplished
by means of asexual spores, which are produced in a great
variety of ways, though sexual reproduction is known to occur
in certain {Phycomycetes}, or so-called algal fungi.
Note: The Fungi appear to have originated by degeneration
from various alg[ae], losing their chlorophyll on
assuming a parasitic or saprophytic life. By some they
are divided into the subclasses {Phycomycetes}, the
lower or algal fungi; the {Mesomycetes}, or
intermediate fungi; and the {Mycomycetes}, or the
higher fungi; by others into the {Phycomycetes}; the
{Ascomycetes}, or sac-spore fungi; and the
{Basidiomycetes}, or basidial-spore fungi.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
Basidiomycetes
n : large class of higher fungi coextensive with subdivision
Basidiomycota [syn: {Basidiomycetes}, {class
Basidiomycetes}]
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