Theprinceofmycologia - Tumblr Posts
I went to the botanical gardens and found some cute critters...
Some frogs...
I think these are phantasmal poison frogs or Epipedobates tricolor, but I am not 100% sure.
Some koi fish...
And this majestic bug...
I think it's an Heteropteryx dilatata, but I am not sure...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If anyone has a better idea of what some of these are, please let me know:)
Cap shapes and gill attachment
This post shows the varieties of cap shapes and gill attachments of the "typical" mushroom with gills.
With the "typical" mushroom I mean fruitbodies of fungi that have caps and are not morel or saddle mushrooms.
While most of these "typical" mushrooms have gills, a lot can also have pores or teeth under the cap, but these are mostly just called pores and teeth, and are not distinguished by gill attachment, because well...they are not gills.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cap (pileus) shapes
Gill (lamella) attachment
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I just realised that in posts I just throw around the names of cap shapes and gill attachments without actually explaining what it looks like so that is why I made this post.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mutuals
@squidsandthings
@fungus-gnats
@fairy-tales-of-yesterday
@flamingears
@lameotello
@lovelyalicorn
@writingraccoon
@edukincon
@emmakapla
Spores: various shapes and textures
Just like my post on cap shapes and gill attachment, I thought it might be useful to know what certain terms mean when I describe a fungus, in this case the terms I use to describe spores and what they look like.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mycorrhizal spores: shapes and textures
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Link to image:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mutuals
@squidsandthings
@fungus-gnats
@fairy-tales-of-yesterday
@flamingears
@lameotello
@lovelyalicorn
@writingraccoon
@edukincon
@emmakapla
PINNED POST - LINKS
This post has the links to 'mini-series' posts.
MYCOLOGY 101
Cap shapes and gill attachment
Spores: various shapes and textures
Mycological terms and practical vocabulary
FOSSIL SHARK TEETH ID PROJECT
Fossil Shark Teeth ID Project - Part 1
Fossil Shark Teeth ID Project - Part 2
SPOOKY PLANTS AND FUNGI
Ghost pipe - Monotropa uniflora
Spooky Fungi
Black elfin saddle - Helvella lacunosa
White elfin crispa - Helvella crispa
Candy apple bolete - Exsudoporus frostii
Beefsteak mushroom - Fistulina hepatica
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mutuals
@squidsandthings
@fungus-gnats
@fairy-tales-of-yesterday
@flamingears
@lameotello
@lovelyalicorn
@writingraccoon
@edukincon
@emmakapla
Mycological terms and practical vocabulary
I would recommend against reading all of this (except if you want to ofc), I made this post with the purpose of being able to look up what certain terms mean in my posts.
I have not yet used all of these terms, however I did think these were important terms. Whenever I use a new term in a post, I will add it to this list.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A
acute - (refers to the shape) sharp
amyloid - turns blue, grey or black when stained with Meltzer’s reagent
annulus - ring of tissue on a mushroom stem left by a torn partial veil
ascomycetes - a class of fungi that produces their spores in sac-like cells called asci
B
basidiomycetes - a class of fungi that produce their spores on basidia
basidiospores - sexual spores produced on the basidia of basidiomycetes fungi
basidia - (sing. basidium) spore-producing cells of a basidiomycete fungus
biotrophic - feeding on living cells of other organisms
bulbous - (describes a stipe) with a swollen base
C
caespitose - crowded together in a tuft or a cluster but not attached to each other
caulocystidium - a cystidium on the stem of a mushroom
cheilocystidium - a cystidium on the edge of a mushroom gill
chlamydospores - asexual spores formed by the breaking up of fungal hyphae
clamp connection - swollen area formed around septum in a hypha during cell division
clavate - (often describes a stipe) club-shaped
coprophilous - growing on dung
cystidium - special sterile cell among the basidia on some fungi
D
deuteromycetes - obsolete term for a group fungi not known to reproduce sexually
dextrinoid - staining brick red or brown with Meltzer’s reagent
dichotomous - forking/divided into pairs
dikaryon - a pair of closely associated, sexually compatible nuclei
E
ectomycorrhiza (EM) - where the fungus forms sheathes around plant rootlets (often of a tree), growing between but not penetrating the cells of the plant root, and providing the plant with water and nutrients while the plant supplies sugars to the fungus
endomycorrhiza - mycorrhiza in which fungal hyphae penetrate cell walls of host plant
endophyte - fungus living within a plant without causing visible symptoms of harm
F
foetid - with a strong and offensive odour
fusiform - (describes a stipe) spindle-shaped, tapering at top and bottom
G
gleba - spore-bearing tissue enclosed within fruitbodies of gasteromycetes
guttation - the exudation of water and some metabolic byproducts produced by fungal cells
guttule - a small oil-like drop microscopically visible inside a fungal spore
H
hirsute - hairy
hyaline - clear/colourless when viewed under a microscope
hymenium - fertile spore-bearing tissue (e.g. on mushroom gill or pore surfaces)
hypha - (pl. hyphae) filamentous thread of fungal mycelium
I
inamyloid - not changing colours with Melzer's reagent
L
lamellae - gills
latex - milky fluid that oozes from cut surfaces of Lactarius species
lichen - organism comprising a fungus and an alga or a cyanobacterium
lignicolous - growing on wood
M
monomitic - monomitic systems only have one type of hyphae: generative hyphae
mycelium - body of a fungus, most of which is underground or hidden within wood
mycobiont - the fungal component of a lichen or of a mycorrhizal partnership
mycorrhiza - structure by which a fungus and a plant exchange nutrients mutually
myxomycetes - a large and commonly encountered group within the slime moulds
N
necrotrophic - feeding by killing and consuming (part of) another organism
nonamyloid - not turning blue, grey or black when stained with Meltzer’s reagent
O
organelle - a differentiated structure within a cell
P
parasitism - process whereby an organism feeds at the expense of another (host)
partial veil - protective membrane covering gills during development of a fruitbody
pellicle - the outer layer of a mushroom, often viscid (sticky, gelatinous) and easily peels off
peridioles - egg-like spore capsules in bird’s-nest fungi (Nidulariaceae)
peridium - outer wall of a fungus, especially a gasteromycete (e.g. a puffball)
perithecium - flask-shaped chambers containing asci within pyrenomycetes fungi
photobiont - photosynthesizing component (alga or cyanobacterium) of a lichen
pileus - (pl. pilei) the cap on the top of a mushroom stem
pleurocystidium - a cystidium on a gill surface
pores - the orifices of the tubes of polypore fungi via which spores emerge
pseudorhiza - a tap-root-like extension at the base of a mushroom stem
Q
---
R
resupinate - fruitbody that lies flat on the substrate with its hymenium outermost
rhizomorph - a root-like mycelial strand comprising bunched parallel hyphae
ring - membranous remains of the partial veil attached to a stem
S saprophyte - an organism that obtains its nutrients from dead organic material
septate - (describes hyphae) partitioned by cross walls known as septa
septum - (pl. septa) a cross wall separating cells of a hyphal thread
serrate - (describes gill margins) with saw-toothed edges
sessile - without a stalk
slime moulds - a group of fungus-like organisms that use spores to reproduce
sphaerocysts - globose hyphal cells in the Russulaceae and certain other fungi
spore - reproductive structure of a fungus, usually a single cell
sporophore - fungal fruitbody
stellate - star-shaped
sterigma - (pl. sterigmata) prong at top of basidium on which a spore develops
sterile - does not produce spores, either sexually or asexually
stipe - stem of a mushroom
stipitate - (describes a fruitbody) having a stem
striate - (describes a cap) with fine radiating lines or furrows around margin
T
thallus - (pl. thalli) the body of a fungus or a lichen
tomentose - seemingly thickly covered in wool or soft hairs
trama - the flesh or context of a fungal fruitbody’s cap, gills or stem
tubes - spore-bearing cylindrical structures of boletes and polypores
U
universal veil - a protective membrane that initially surrounds an entire fruitbody
Uredinales - rust fungi (an order within the Basidiomycota)
ustilaginomycetes - smut fungi (a class within the Basidiomycota)
V
viscid - slimy or sticky
volva - remains of the universal veil found at stem base of some fungi
W
---
X
---
Y
---
Z
Zygomycota - a class of simple fungi whose hyphae generally lack cross walls
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
References
First Nature
The University of Adelaide
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mutuals
@squidsandthings
@fungus-gnats
@fairy-tales-of-yesterday
@flamingears
@lameotello
@lovelyalicorn
@writingraccoon
@edukincon
@emmakapla
Hiyaaa:) This is another part of Mycology 101, it will be linked in my pinned post.