Basidiomycete

Basidiomycete is a term in botany for any of a class of fungus called Basidiomycetes, that includes majority of familiar mushrooms and toadstools. The puffballs, earthstars, stinkhorns, and polypores also belong to this class. The spores of Basidiomycete develop in basidia. Basidiomycetes is one of the three classes of the phylum Basidiomycota, the other two are Teliomycetes, and Ustomycetes. The rusts belong to Teliomycetes, and smuts belong to Ustomycetes.