mycelium

noun

my·​ce·​li·​um mī-ˈsē-lē-əm 

plural mycelia mī-ˈsē-lē-ə 

: the mass of interwoven filamentous hyphae that forms especially the vegetative portion of the thallus of a fungus and is often submerged in another body (as of soil or organic matter or the tissues of a host)

also : a similar mass of filaments formed by some bacteria (such as streptomyces)

mycelial

mī-ˈsē-lē-əl 

adjective

Examples of mycelium in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Powdery mildew is more unusual in that the mycelium primarily grows on the outside of the leaf. —Miri Talabac, Baltimore Sun, 24 Aug. 2023

Or that there is a network of mycelium that underlies everything on the planet that functions as nature’s intelligence? —Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2023

Literally because with fungi, there’s a mycelium network, which is kind of like a web-like network underground connecting trees, roots, mushrooms, other life forms. —Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 July 2023

He’s found that, like human neurons, mycelium displays recognizable spiking patterns and can form stronger conductivity over time, similar to the way memories and habits form in the brain. —Michelle Delgado, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Apr. 2023

The material has a knitted textile base, from which a mycelium composite grows atop. —Anna Kodé, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2023

And to paraphrase a quote, mycelium is a way of life that challenges the animal imagination, and that's because mycelium has no central organization. —Extra Spicy Podcast, San Francisco Chronicle, 16 May 2022

The team was able to create paper-thin sheets of mycelium from edible Basidiomycota fungi in containers of sugary sweet molasses. —Sara Kiley Watson, Popular Science, 20 July 2023

To further reduce waste, traditional packaging is eschewed in favor of a biodegradable casing made of mycelium, a fungus, as well as agricultural materials. —Austa Somvichian-Clausen, Robb Report, 11 June 2023

See More

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, from myc- (from base of Greek mykēt-, mýkēs "mushroom, fungus") + -el- (of unknown origin) + -ium -ium — more at myco-

Note: Term introduced by the Austrian botanist and mycologist Leopold Trattinnick (1764-1849) in Fungi Austriaci, ad specimina viva cera expressi descriptiones ac historiam naturalem completam addidit Leopoldus Trattinnick/Oesterreichs Schwämme, nach lebendigen Originalen in Wachs gearbeitet mit Beschreibungen und einer ausführlichen Naturgeschichte, 1. Lieferung (Vienna, 1804). Trattinnick, who uses the word throughout the work, gives no indication of its derivation. His translation in the parallel vernacular columns is Schwammgewächs, literally, "mushroom growth." The reading of -el- as Greek hêlos "nail head, wart, callus," apparently first proposed in the Century Dictionary and copied by many dictionaries since, is improbable and in any case purely speculative. Somewhat more probable is the suggestion in the Oxford English Dictionary that the interposed -l- is after epithelium.

First Known Use

1836, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

mycelium

noun

my·​ce·​li·​um mī-ˈsē-lē-əm 

plural mycelia

-lē-ə

: the part of the body of a fungus that does not reproduce and usually consists of a mass of hyphae that are often growing in something else (as soil, organic matter, or the tissues of a plant or animal host)

mycelial

-lē-əl 

adjective

Medical Definition

mycelium

noun

my·​ce·​li·​um mī-ˈsē-lē-əm 

plural mycelia -lē-ə 

: the mass of interwoven filamentous hyphae that forms especially the vegetative body of a fungus and is often submerged in another body (as of soil or organic matter or the tissues of a host)

also : a similar mass of filaments formed by some bacteria (as of the genus Streptomyces)