Decurrent

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title: "Decurrent" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["plant-morphology", "fungal-morphology-and-anatomy"] description: "Term used in botany and mycology" topic_path: "science/biology" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decurrent" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Term used in botany and mycology ::

| align = right | direction = vertical | header = | width = 200 | image1 = Starr_040723-0032_Verbascum_thapsus.jpg | caption1 = Decurrent leaves in common mullein (Verbascum thapsus) | image2 = Clitopilus.prunulus2.-.lindsey.jpg | caption2 = The mushroom Clitopilus prunulus has strongly decurrent gills. And it is upside down. "Decurrent" means the gills form close to the stalk, away from the cap.

Decurrent (sometimes decurring) is a term used in botany and mycology to describe plant or fungal parts that extend downward.

In botany, the term is most often applied to leaf blades that partly wrap or have wings around the stem or petiole and extend down along the stem. A "decurrent branching habit" is a plant form common for shrubs and most angiosperm trees, contrasted with the excurrent or "cone-shaped crown" common among many gymnosperms.

In mycology, the term is most often applied to the hymenophore of a basidiocarp (such as the lamellae or "gills" of a mushroom or the "pores" of a bracket fungus) when it is broadly attached to and extends down the stipe.

References

References

1. 10.2307/2440793
2. Ammirati J, Trudell S.. (2009). "Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest: Timber Press Field Guide (Timber Press Field Guides)". [[Timber Press]].
3. Claud L. Brown, Robert G. McAlpine, Paul P. Kormanik, "Apical Dominance and Form in Woody Plants: A Reappraisal", ''American Journal of Botany'', Vol. 54, No. 2 (February 1967), pp. 153–162, {{doi. 10.2307/2440793

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::