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true fungus

true fungus

7.0
A living thing like a mushroom or mold with cell walls made of chitin that makes spores
  • noun
  • /tru ˈfʌŋɡəs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : hongo verdadero
  • It characterizes most of the saprotrophic, parasitic, and mycorrhizal Eumycota (true fungi).

Examples

  • Some true fungi play important roles in decomposing organic matter.

  • The region is home to various true fungi that contribute to soil health.

  • One type of mycetoma is caused by actinomycetes (actinomycetomas), and another by true fungi (sinonasal masses).

    Academic text (2008)
  • Many types of bread are made using yeast, which is a kind of true fungus.

Synonyms

fungus
vstrue fungus
  • Specialized
84 3.1

A living thing like a mushroom or mold that feeds on dead plants and food

is narrower, applying only to organisms in a specific phylum excluding similar types
fungi
vstrue fungus
  • Specialized
23 4.8

Living things like mushrooms, molds, and yeasts that get food from dead plants or animals

is narrower, referring only to members of a single division not the whole kingdom
Eumycota
vstrue fungus
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of living things like mushrooms and molds that have cell walls and cannot make their own food

refers to individual organisms in that phylum rather than the phylum label
division Eumycota
vstrue fungus
  • Specialized
9.6

A main group of fungi like mushrooms and molds that have cells with walls made of chitin

refers to the organisms themselves rather than the division term
Eumycetes
vstrue fungus
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of fungi that have cell walls containing chitin

refers to individual organisms in that group rather than the group name

Surface Forms

true fungus singular
true fungi plural

Morphology

true + fungus

The adjective 'true' meaning 'genuine' combined with 'fungus' yields a predictable meaning: a genuine/real fungus as opposed to fungus-like organisms. Although used in scientific classification, the relation is fully compositional and a B1 learner who knows both words can infer this distinction.

Etymology

True fungus began as a simple scientific label. Scientists used true to point to the real kind of fungus — not 'fungus-like' living things like slime molds — so today it means fungi that belong to the real fungal group.