Fun"gi (?), n. pl. (Bot.)
See Fungus.
© Webster 1913
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.
⇒ The Fungi appear to have originated by degeneration from various algæ, 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.
© Webster 1913