(teliospore) A dark two-celled thick-walled binucleate spore formed towards the end of the growing season by rust and smut fungi. Teleutospores develop in a black sorus, the teleutosorus or telium, and are the form in which the fungus overwinters. The two nuclei in each cell fuse and the zygote nuclei then undergo meiosis so that on germination a haploid promycelium grows from each cell. This subsequently forms * basidiospores. The teliospores of smut fungi are often termed brand spores or chlamydospores. See heteroecious. |
