Portal:Fungi

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A fungus is any member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. The Fungi are classified as a kingdom that is separate from plants and animals. The discipline of biology devoted to the study of fungi is known as mycology or fungal biology, which is historically regarded as a branch of botany, even though genetic studies have shown that fungi are more closely related to animals than to plants. Fungi reproduce via spores and grow as hyphae, mycelia, and futher specialized structures. Fungal spores are often produced on specialized structures or in fruiting bodies, such as the head of a mushroom. Abundant worldwide, most fungi are mostly invisible to the naked eye because of the small size of their structures, and their cryptic lifestyles in soil, on dead matter, and as symbionts of plants, animals, or other fungi. Fungi perform an essential role in the decomposition of organic matter and have fundamental roles in nutrient cycling and exchange. They have long been used as a direct source of food, such as mushrooms and truffles, as a leavening agent for bread, and in fermentation of various food products, such as wine, beer, and soy sauce.

Since the 1940s, fungi have been used for the production of antibiotics, and, more recently, various enzymes produced by fungi are used industrially and in detergents. Fungi are also used as biological agents to control weeds and pests. Many species produce bioactive compounds called mycotoxins, such as alkaloids and polyketides, that are toxic to animals including humans. The fruiting structures of a few species are consumed recreationally or in traditional ceremonies as a source of psychotropic compounds. Fungi can break down manufactured materials and buildings, and become significant pathogens of humans and other animals. Losses of crops due to fungal diseases or food spoilage can have a large impact on human food supplies and local economies. Despite their importance on human affairs, little is known of the true biodiversity of Kingdom Fungi, which has been estimated at around 1.5 million species, with about 5% of these having been formally classified.

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Lycoperdon echinatum, commonly known as the spiny puffball or the spring puffball, is a type of puffball mushroom in the genus Lycoperdon. The saprobic species has been found in Africa, Europe, Central America and North America, where it grows on soil in deciduous woods, glades, and pastures. It has been proposed that North American specimens be considered a separate species, Lycoperdon americanum, but this suggestion has not been followed by most authors. Molecular analysis indicates that Lycoperdon echinatum is closely related to the puffball genus Handkea.

The fruit bodies of L. echinatum are 2–4 cm (0.8–1.6 in) wide by 2–3.5 cm (0.8–1.4 in) tall, supported by a small base, and densely covered with spines that are up to 0.6 cm (0.2 in) long. The spines can fall off in maturity, leaving a net-like pattern of scars on the underlying surface. Initially white in color, the puffballs turn a dark brown as they mature, at the same time changing from nearly round to somewhat flattened. Young specimens of L. echinatum resemble another edible spiny puffball, Lycoperdon pulcherrimum, but this latter species does not turn brown as it ages. The fruit bodies are edible when young, when the interior is white and firm and before it has turned into a powdery brown mass of spores. Laboratory tests have shown that extracts of the fruit bodies can inhibit the growth of several bacteria that are pathogenic to humans.

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Amanita daucipes is a species of fungus in the mushroom family Amanitaceae of the order Agaricales. Found exclusively in North America, the mushroom may be recognized in the field by the medium to large white caps with pale orange tints, and the dense covering of pale orange or reddish-brown powdery conical warts on the cap surface. The mushroom also has a characteristic large bulb at the base of its stem with a blunt short rooting base, whose shape is suggestive of the common names carrot-footed lepidella, carrot-foot amanita, or turnip-foot amanita. The mushroom has a strong odor that has been described variously as "sweet and nauseous", or compared to an old ham bone, or soap. Edibility is unknown for the species, but consumption is generally not recommended due its position in the Amanita subgroup Lepidella, which contains some poisonous members.

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Credit: Dan Molter

A mature Morchella elata fruit body photographed in Wayne National Forest, Athens County, Ohio, United States.

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Did you know?

... that in Mexico, the mushroom Boletus frostii is commonly known as panzia agria, which translates to "sour belly"?
... that the yellow wart is often confused with the fly agaric?
... that the largest specimens of the sandy stiltball fungus have been found growing in floodplains with halophilic vegetation?
... that Geastrum triplex is considered the largest of the earthstar fungi?
... that the puffball mushroom Calvatia sculpta has been described as "a cross between a geodesic dome and a giant glob of meringue"?

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General images - show new batch

The following are images from various fungi-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Ferula mushroom in Bingöl, Turkey . This is an edible type of mushroom. (from Mushroom)
Image 2Culinary mushrooms in a diversity of shapes and colors (from Mushroom)
Image 3Pityriasis versicolor (from Fungal infection)
Image 4Pennate diatom from an Arctic meltpond, infected with two chytrid-like [zoo-]sporangium fungal pathogens (in false-colour red). Scale bar = 10 μm. (from Marine fungi)
Image 5Chytrid parasites of marine diatoms. (A) Chytrid sporangia on Pleurosigma sp. The white arrow indicates the operculate discharge pore. (B) Rhizoids (white arrow) extending into diatom host. (C) Chlorophyll aggregates localized to infection sites (white arrows). (D and E) Single hosts bearing multiple zoosporangia at different stages of development. The white arrow in panel E highlights branching rhizoids. (F) Endobiotic chytrid-like sporangia within diatom frustule. Bars = 10 μm. (from Marine fungi)
Image 6Amanita jacksonii buttons emerging from their universal veils (from Mushroom)
Image 7Amanita muscaria, the most easily recognised "toadstool", is frequently depicted in fairy stories and on greeting cards. It is often associated with gnomes. (from Mushroom)
Image 8Boletus edulis, also known as "cep", is an edible wild bolete found in Europe (from Mushroom)
Image 9Psilocybe zapotecorum, a hallucinogenic mushroom (from Mushroom)
Image 10Mushrooms are considered a kind of fungal reproductive organ. (from Mycology)
Image 11There are over 100 psychoactive mushroom species of genus Psilocybe native to regions all around the world. (from Mushroom)
Image 12Close-up cross section of mushroom. (from Mushroom)
Image 13Fungi within Zygomycota form progametangia with suspensors during mating (from Mating in fungi)
Image 14The red yeast rice fungus, Monascus purpureus, can synthesize three statins. (from Medicinal uses of fungi)
Image 15The blue gills of Lactarius indigo, a milk-cap mushroom (from Mushroom)
Image 16Eumycetoma (from Fungal infection)
Image 17
Mycoloop links between phytoplankton and zooplankton
Chytrid‐mediated trophic links between phytoplankton and zooplankton (mycoloop). While small phytoplankton species can be grazed upon by zooplankton, large phytoplankton species constitute poorly edible or even inedible prey. Chytrid infections on large phytoplankton can induce changes in palatability, as a result of host aggregation (reduced edibility) or mechanistic fragmentation of cells or filaments (increased palatability). First, chytrid parasites extract and repack nutrients and energy from their hosts in form of readily edible zoospores. Second, infected and fragmented hosts including attached sporangia can also be ingested by grazers (i.e. concomitant predation). (from Marine fungi)
Image 18Neurospora crassa life cycle. The haploid mycelium reproduces asexually by two processes: (1) simple proliferation of existing mycelium, and (2) formation of conidia (macro- and micro-) which can be dispersed and then germinate to produce new mycelium. In the sexual cycle, mating can only occur between individual strains of different mating type, A and a. Fertilization occurs by the passage of nuclei of conidia or mycelium of one mating type into the protoperithecia of the opposite mating type through the trichogyne. Fusion of the nuclei of opposite mating types occurs within the protoperithecium to form a zygote (2N) nucleus. (from Mating in fungi)
Image 19
Driftwood
(from Marine fungi)
Image 20
Lichen covered rocks
(from Marine fungi)
Image 21Agaricus bisporus mushroom is a cultivated edible mushroom for foods and has many names such as "champignon", " button mushroom", "white mushroom", and " portobello" (from Mushroom)
Image 22Psychotropic mushroom Amanita muscaria, commonly known as "fly agaric" (from Mushroom)
Image 23Tinea corporis (from Fungal infection)
Image 24Phylogenetic and symbiogenetic tree of living organisms, showing a view of the origins of eukaryotes and prokaryotes (from Marine fungi)
Image 25Yellow flower pot mushrooms (Leucocoprinus birnbaumii) at various states of development (from Mushroom)
Image 26Ling Zhi-8, an immunomodulatory protein isolated from Ganoderma lucidum (from Medicinal uses of fungi)
Image 27Agaricus bitorquis mushroom emerging through asphalt concrete in summer (from Mushroom)
Image 28Morphological characteristics of the caps of mushrooms (from Mushroom)
Image 29A tinder fungus, Fomes fomentarius (from Mushroom)
Image 30
Roles of fungi in the marine carbon cycle
Roles of fungi in the marine carbon cycle by processing phytoplankton-derived organic matter. Parasitic fungi, as well as saprotrophic fungi, directly assimilate phytoplankton organic carbon. By releasing zoospores, the fungi bridge the trophic linkage to zooplankton, known as the mycoloop. By modifying the particulate and dissolved organic carbon, they can affect bacteria and the microbial loop. These processes may modify marine snow chemical composition and the subsequent functioning of the biological carbon pump. (from Marine fungi)
Image 31Morchella elata asci viewed with phase contrast microscopy (from Mushroom)
Image 32
Diagram of a mycoloop (fungus loop)
Parasitic chytrids can transfer material from large inedible phytoplankton to zooplankton. Chytrids zoospores are excellent food for zooplankton in terms of size (2–5 μm in diameter), shape, nutritional quality (rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids and cholesterols). Large colonies of host phytoplankton may also be fragmented by chytrid infections and become edible to zooplankton. (from Marine fungi)
Image 33Morphological diversity of fungi collected from a marine sponge species, Ircinia variabilis (from Marine fungi)
Image 34Young Amanita phalloides "death cap" mushrooms, with a matchbox for size comparison (from Mushroom)
Image 35Group photograph taken at a meeting of the British Mycological Society in 1913 (from Mycology)
Image 36Onychomycosis (from Fungal infection)
Image 37Salmon with fungal disease (from Marine fungi)
Image 38A mushroom (probably Russula brevipes) parasitized by Hypomyces lactifluorum resulting in a "lobster mushroom" (from Mushroom)
Image 39Oral candidiasis (from Fungal infection)
Image 40Typical mating fusion of two compatible monokaryons in Basidiomycota (from Mating in fungi)
Image 41Fungi within Ascomycota form ascogonium and antheridium with trichogyne bridge (from Mating in fungi)
Image 42Common puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum) has a glebal hymenium; the interior is white when it is young, but as it matures, the interior becomes brown containing spores (from Mushroom)
Image 43Agaricus bisporus, one of the most widely cultivated and consumed mushrooms (from Mushroom)
Image 44The photochemistry of vitamin D₂ biosynthesis (from Medicinal uses of fungi)
Image 45Ganoderma lingzhi (from Mushroom)
Image 46Maitake, a polypore mushroom (from Mushroom)