from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Myxomycetes \Myx`o*my*ce"tes\, n. pl. [NL.; Gr. ? mucus, slime +
myceles.] (Bot.)
A class of peculiar organisms, the slime molds, formerly
regarded as animals (Mycetozoa), but now generally thought to
be plants and often separated as a distinct phylum
(Myxophyta); essentially equivalent to the division
Myxomycota. They are found on damp earth and decaying
vegetable matter, and consist of naked masses of protoplasm,
often of considerable size, which creep very slowly over the
surface and ingest solid food. -- {Myx`o*my*ce"tous}, a.
Syn: true slime molds, acellular slime molds, plasmodial
slime molds.
[Webster 1913 Suppl. + WordNet 1.5]