Fungus Fact Friday

Tagged: morphology

describing the physical characteristics of fungi

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Fungus Fact

#067: Mushroom Morpholgy: Verpas

The genus Verpa contains just a handful of species that are encountered occasionally.  These mushrooms look a lot like morels (FFF#033), but are attached just at the top of the cap and have a stipe filled with cottony material.  The cap of a verpa hangs down around the stipe, rather like a thimble on top of a finger.  This arrangement has led to the common names “Thimble Cap” or “Thimble Fungus,” although I usually just call them “verpas.”  Verpas tend to appear just before morels, so if you find one you should come back to check for morels after a week or two.

Inky cap gill face 36

Fungus Fact

#013: Characteristics of Division Basidiomycota

Division Basidiomycota (also called Phylum Basidiomycota) accounts for about 37% of all described fungal species. This division contains the fungi that people are most familiar with. The classic “Mario mushroom” (based on Amanita muscaria), the grocery store button mushroom and other varieties of Agaricus bisporus, shiitakes, oyster mushrooms, and even the major “magic mushrooms” are all basidiomycetes. However, the Basidiomycota also include rusts and smuts, which are economically important plant pathogens, some yeasts, and a few lichenized fungi. Like the Ascomycota, the Basidiomycota fill a variety of different ecological roles. Many form mycorrhizas with plants, others parasitize plants, a lot decompose organic material, and some live in a variety of symbioses with insects. The Basidiomycota are commonly referred to as “basidiomycetes,” “basidios,” or “club fungi.”

Mycena leaiana 4

Fungus Fact

#027: Gilled Mushrooms (Agarics)

The gilled mushrooms, informally referred to as ‘agarics,’ are the type of mushroom with which we are most familiar. The most common edible mushrooms (white/button/portabella mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms), Amanita muscaria – the most recognizable mushroom in the world and the inspiration for almost all mushroom art – and the ‘magic mushrooms’ are all gilled mushrooms. All these mushrooms share one feature: vertical plates of spore-producing tissue stacked under a sterile cap.

cortinarius sp. 3

Fungus Fact

#186: The Genus Cortinarius

Cortinarius contains umbrella-like agaric mushrooms that are mycorrhizal, have a brown spore print, and produce a cobweb-like partial veil. It is the largest mushroom genus on Earth, with over two thousand species crammed into it. While the genus itself is fairly easy to recognize, identifying anything down to species is next to impossible. Most of the species listed in field guides are actually species groups and the field guide descriptions apply to a handful of closely related species.

Stropharia rugosoannulata 8

Fungus Fact

#185: Stropharioid Mushrooms

The stropharioid mushrooms include agarics from the genera Stropharia, Hypholoma, Psilocybe,* and Pholiota. Mushrooms in this group produce a brown to dark brown spore print, have attached gills, and form a partial veil. There are actually quite a few mushrooms that can fit this description, so you might have to check some microscopic features to be sure your mushroom belongs to this group. Stropharioid mushrooms should have a cap surface composed of thread-like cells and have smooth spores with distinctive germ pores.

Pluteus cervinus 3

Fungus Fact

#184: The Family Pluteaceae

The family Pluteaceae contains umbrella-like agarics with pink spores and free gills. Within the group, most mushrooms are divided among the genera Pluteus and Volvariella. Pluteus mushrooms grow only on wood and never produce a volva, while Volvariella species grow on a variety of substrates and always form a volva.

Entoloma vernum 3

Fungus Fact

#183: The Family Entolomataceae

The Entolomataceae are agarics with pink spore prints, attached gills, and spores with sharp corners or bumps. This family is very diverse and morphology varies widely from one species to the next. The mushrooms range in size from small to large, though most are on the small side. A majority of the Entolomataceae are just boring mushrooms, so they are not collected very often. This is probably just as well, since identifying these mushrooms down to species is a herculean task.

Hygrocybe splendidissima 5

Fungus Fact

#182: Waxy Caps

The waxy caps (alternately called “wax caps” or “waxcaps”) are agaric mushrooms primarily distinguished by their waxy texture, as the name suggests. Actually, the gills are the only part of the mushroom that feels waxy. To fully appreciate the unusual texture, break off a small piece of the gills and roll it between your fingers. It should have a texture reminiscent of soft candle wax.

Pleurotus ostreatus 3

Fungus Fact

#180: Pleurotoid Mushrooms

Pleurotoid mushrooms are agarics that have a single common feature: they lack a well-developed stipe. Originally, I was not going to include pleurotoid mushrooms as a distinct agaric morphology. Their other physical characteristics vary widely and they belong to multiple unrelated taxonomic groups. To anyone classifying mushrooms, grouping them based on pleurotoid growth is decidedly unhelpful. However, it is a useful group from a field guide standpoint because it quickly reduces the number of possible matches. Eventually, I decided to discuss the pleurotoid mushrooms because they are often mentioned in field guides and because “pleurotoid” is a commonly-used mushroom descriptor.

Crepidotus mollis 2

Fungus Fact

#179: The Genus Crepidotus

Crepidotus species are small, brown-spored agarics that grow on wood and either lack a stipe or have a diminutive stipe. These features are usually enough to separate Crepidotus species from mushrooms with a similar habitat and morphology; most other morphologically similar mushrooms produce pale spores. Although commonly encountered, Crepidotus is not useful for anything and the mushrooms go ignored by most seasoned foragers.