A small, cup-shaped or disc-shaped structure in certain fungi that contains and releases spores for reproduction.
From Latin 'acervulus,' literally meaning 'little heap' (diminutive of 'acervus'). In mycology, it was named for the way spores are heaped together in this tiny protective cup before they're released.
Different fungi have different styles of spore containers—some use acervuli (like certain plant-pathogenic fungi), while others use pycnidia or sporangia. It's like evolution designed different packaging for delivering microscopic 'seeds'!
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