(pl. vegetates)
Terms discussed: somatic
Although most of us think of vegetation as not doing much, for fungi, this is their major activity! When we say that a fungus is vegetating, we mean that it is growing and feeding (that is, doing what plants do). The portion of the fungus that does this is called the vegetative portion of the fungus, and the hyphae in the vegetative portion of the fungus are called vegetative hyphae. Since vegetative hyphae make up the main body of the fungus, they are sometimes called somatic hyphae.
Back to top
