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what is Basidiomycetes?

 A basidiomycete is a fungus that forms its sexual spores externally on a special cell called a basidium. The resulting spores are termed basidiospores and they usually are formed on the tip of a slender extension of the basidium called the sterigma. In most basidiomycetes four basidiospores form on each basidium, but the number can vary with the species. Because the basidium is often club-shaped, the basidiomycetes are often referred to as club fungi. In most basidiomycetes the basidia are formed in or on a structure composed of fungal tissue that is called a basidioma or basidiocarp. The basidiomycetes comprise the second largest group of fungi; they are subdivided into groups based on the type of basidioma and basidia that is formed. The basidiomycetes includes the mushrooms, boletes, bracket fungi, rusts and smuts.


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