A cup-shaped or disc-shaped structure in fungi and lichens that holds or bears reproductive bodies such as spores or ascospores.
From Latin 'excipulum,' the neuter form of 'excipere' (to hold, receive, contain), literally meaning 'that which receives or holds things.'
This structure is so important in fungal reproduction that mycologists (fungal scientists) categorize entire groups of fungi based on whether they have exciplums and what shape they are!
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