gleba
1
9.9
A soft inner part of some mushrooms holding tiny cells that grow into new mushrooms
- noun
- /ˈɡliːbə/
- Specialized
:
gleba
- The gleba of the puffball is soft and white when young, turning powdery as it matures.
Examples
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The unpleasant odor of the stinkhorn comes from its slimy gleba.
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I found a large gleba in the forest.
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Scientists examined the gleba to study the spore development of the mushroom.
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The gleba of the puffball is edible.
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The gleba inside the puffball releases thousands of spores when it matures.
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When disturbed, the gleba of the stinkhorn emits a foul odor to attract insects for spore dispersal.
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In the earthstar fungus, the gleba is encased in a protective layer until it is ready to release its spores.
Surface Forms
Etymology
Gleba comes from the Latin gleba, meaning 'lump of earth' or 'soil', because the inside of some mushrooms is a soft 'lump' that holds their spores.