Topic summary
Apothecium
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Ascocarp.
Apothecium
An apothecium (plural: apothecia) is a wide, open, saucer-shaped or cup-shaped fruit body. It is sessile and fleshy. The structure of the apothecium chiefly consists of three parts: hymenium (upper concave surface), hypothecium, and excipulum (the "foot"). The asci are present in the hymenium layer. The asci are freely exposed at maturity. An example are the members of Dictyomycetes. Here the fertile layer is free, so that many spores can be dispersed simultaneously. The morel, Morchella, an edible ascocarp, favored by gourmets, is a mass of apothecia fused together in a single large structure or cap. The genera Helvella and Gyromitra are similar.