fungus

n. காளான், நாய்க்குடை, (தாவ.) மட்கிய உயிரிப்பொருள்மீது வளரும் பாசியமற்ற குறிமறையினச் செடியினம், திடீரெனத் தோன்றி வளருஞ் செடியினம், (மரு.) கடற்பஞ்சு போன்ற நோய்த்தன்மையான வளர்ச்சி, மீனின் தோல் நோய்.

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Fun"gus, n.; pl. L. Fungi, E. Funguses. Etym: [L., a mushroom; perh. akin to a doubtful Gr. sponge.] 1. (Bot.) Defn: Any one of the Fungi, a large and very complex group of thallophytes of low organization, -- the molds, mildews, rusts, smuts, mushrooms, toadstools, puff balls, and the allies of each. Note: The fungi are all destitute of chorophyll, and, therefore, to be supplied with elaborated nourishment, must live as saprophytes or parasites. They range in size from single microscopic cells to systems of entangled threads many feet in extent, which develop reproductive bodies as large as a man's head. The vegetative system consists of septate or rarely unseptate filaments called hyphæ; the aggregation of hyphæ into structures of more or less definite form is known as the mycelium. See Fungi, in the Supplement. 2. (Med.) Defn: A spongy, morbid growth or granulation in animal bodies, as the proud flesh of wounds. Hoblyn.

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