peridium

[ puh-rid-ee-uhm ]

noun

, Mycology.

, plural pe·rid·e·a [p, uh, -, rid, -ee-, uh].

1. the outer enveloping coat of the fruit body in many fungi.

peridium

/ pəˈrɪdɪəm /

noun

1. the distinct outer layer of the spore-bearing organ in many fungi

Other Words From

• pe·ridi·al adjective
• pe·rid·i·i·form [p, uh, -, rid, -ee-, uh, -fawrm], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of peridium¹

1815–25; < New Latin < German pērídion, diminutive of pḗra wallet; -idium

Word History and Origins

Origin of peridium¹

C19: from Greek pēridion a little wallet, from pēra leather bag, of obscure origin

Example Sentences

Peridium, pē-rid′i-um, n. the outer coat of a sporophore in angiocarpous fungi.—adj.

From Project Gutenberg

A more complicated case is illustrated by Sphaerobolus, where the entire mass of spores, enclosed in its own peridium, is suddenly shot up into the air like a bomb from a mortar by the elastic retroversion of a peculiar layer which, up to the last moment, surrounded the bomb, and then suddenly splits above, turns inside out, and drives the former as a projectile from a gun.

From Project Gutenberg

B, Part of vertical section through leaf of Berberis vulgaris, with a, aecidium fruits, p, peridium, and sp, spermogonia.

From Project Gutenberg

The fruit-bodies are of very various shapes, showing a differentiation into an outer peridium and an inner spore-bearing mass, the gleba.

From Project Gutenberg

In the last-named genus the peridium is double and the outer layer becomes ruptured and spreads out in the form of star-shaped pieces; the inner layer, however, merely opens at the apex by a small pore.

From Project Gutenberg