Scocarp. Scanning electron microscopy image (SEM) of an immature fungal fruiting body or ascocarp. An ascocarp, or ascoma, is the fruiting body of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. The Ascomycota is the largest phylum of fungi encompassing more than 33, 000 named species and a vast number of undescribed fungi. The phylum includes yeasts and filamentous fungi, fungi that partner with algae and cyanobacteria to form lichen symbioses, mycorrhizal species, saprotrophs, and pathogens of plants and animals. Ascomycetes are utilised in industrial applications, in food production and flavouring, and the fruit bodies of morels and truffles are prized edible fungi. Magnification: x500 when printed at 10 centimetres wide.