Gleba (, from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
''glaeba, glēba'', "lump") is the fleshy
spore
In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, ...
-bearing inner mass of certain
fungi
A fungus (plural, : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of Eukaryote, eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and Mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified ...
such as the
puffball or
stinkhorn.
The gleba is a solid mass of spores, generated within an enclosed area within the
sporocarp. The continuous maturity of the
sporogenous cells leave the spores behind as a powdery mass that can be easily blown away. The gleba may be sticky or it may be enclosed in a case (peridiole).
It is a tissue usually found in an angiocarpous fruit-body, especially
gasteromycetes. Angiocarpous fruit-bodies usually consist of fruit enclosed within a covering that does not form a part of itself; such as the
filbert covered by its husk, or the acorn seated in its
cupule. The presence of gleba can be found in
earthballs and
puffballs. The gleba consists of
mycelium, and
basidia and may also contain
capillitium threads.
Gleba found on the fruit body of species in the family
Phallaceae is typically gelatinous, often fetid-smelling, and deliquescent (becoming liquid from the absorption of water). It is formed on the exterior face of the cap or the upper part of the fruit body. The foul smell helps to attract insects that help disperse the spores. Chemicals that contribute to the odor include
methylmercaptan and
hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless chalcogen-hydride gas, and is poisonous, corrosive, and flammable, with trace amounts in ambient atmosphere having a characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs. The und ...
.
[Miller and Miller (1988), p. 75.]
References
Fungal morphology and anatomy
{{Agaricomycetes-stub