| ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷+ noun plural
Usage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, from prot- + Ascomycetes
in some classifications : a subclass of Ascomycetes characterized by the lack of an ascocarp, by the production of asci directly from the fertilized ascogonium, and by a small and definite number of spores in each ascus — compare euascomycetes , hemiascomycetes