sorus

2 definitions found

sorus - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Sorus \So"rus\, n.; pl. Sori. [NL., fr. Gr. ? a heap.]
     1. (Bot.) One of the fruit dots, or small clusters of
        sporangia, on the back of the fronds of ferns.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2.
        (a) In parasitic fungi, any mass of spores bursting
            through the epidermis of a host plant.
        (b) In lichens, a heap of soredia on the thallus.
            [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

sorus - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  sorus
      n 1: a spore-producing structure in certain lichens and fungi
      2: cluster of sporangia usually on underside of a fern frond