gas·tero·my·ce·tes \ˌgastə(ˌ)rōˌmīsēd.(ˌ)ēz\noun plural Usage: capitalized Etymology: New Latin, from gaster- + -mycetes in some classifications: a class or subclass of fungi including all basidiomycetes with the basidia and spores enclosed in a peridium (as the puffballs and stinkhorns)