‖ hymenium Bot.
(haɪˈmiːnɪəm)
Pl. hymenia.
[mod.L., ad. Gr. ὑµένιον, dim. of ὑµήν hymen2.]
The spore-bearing surface in fungi. In the common mushroom the hymenium covers the gills.
| 1830 Lindley Nat. Syst. Bot. 334 The hymenium, in which the sporules are deposited. 1858 Carpenter Veg. Phys. §778 This..pileus, or cap, is composed of two membranes, of which the upper and outer is simple and imperforate, like the cortical layer of lichens; whilst the inner bears the fructification, and is termed the hymenium. 1882 Vines Sachs' Bot. 311 Small stalked cups, the flattened cavity of which bears a hymenium in which ascospores are formed. |
b. attrib. and Comb.
| 1875 Bennett & Dyer Sachs' Bot. 240 The hymenium-bearing body itself may be the product of a sexual process. |