phycomycetes, n. pl. [NL.; Gr. seaweed + mycetes.].
A large, important class of parasitic or saprophytic fungi, the algal or algalike fungi. The plant body ranges from an undifferentiated mass of protoplasm to a well-developed and much-branched mycelium. Reproduction is mainly sexual, by the formation of conidia or sporangia; but the group shows every form of transition from this method through simple conjugation to perfect sexual reproduction by egg and sperm in the higher forms. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]