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Termitomyces Schimperi
''Termitomyces schimperi'' is a large mushroom associated with the termite species ''Macrotermes michaelseni''. It grows in the northern part of Southern Africa, from northern Namibia up to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), eastwards to Malawi and Mozambique, and westwards to Ivory Coast. In Namibia it is commonly referred to by its Herero name ''Ejova'' (singular)/ ''Omajowa'' (plural). German Namibians refer to the mushroom as "Termitenpilz." Characteristics ''Termitomyces schimperi '' can grow to the size of a "large frying pan". When they emerge, the fruitbody of the fungus are the "size of a man’s fist", before rapidly expanding to 15–28 cm and sometimes reaching 40 cm in diameter. The tops are white. Yellowish to red-brown discolouration of the thick soft scales may occur by the mound soil. Below the top most layer, the scales are white. The pseudorhiza (a cord-like structure resembling a plant root) is narrower at its origin in the termite nest, and may b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mushroom
A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, ''Agaricus bisporus''; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi ( Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes) that have a stem ( stipe), a cap ( pileus), and gills (lamellae, sing. lamella) on the underside of the cap. "Mushroom" also describes a variety of other gilled fungi, with or without stems, therefore the term is used to describe the fleshy fruiting bodies of some Ascomycota. These gills produce microscopic spores that help the fungus spread across the ground or its occupant surface. Forms deviating from the standard morphology usually have more specific names, such as "bolete", "puffball", "stinkhorn", and " morel", and gilled mushrooms themselves are often called "agarics" in refere ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pileus (mycology)
The pileus is the technical name for the cap, or cap-like part, of a basidiocarp or ascocarp (fungal fruiting body) that supports a spore-bearing surface, the hymenium.Moore-Landecker, E: "Fundamentals of the Fungi", page 560. Prentice Hall, 1972. The hymenium (hymenophore) may consist of lamellae, tubes, or teeth, on the underside of the pileus. A pileus is characteristic of agarics, boletes, some polypores, tooth fungi, and some ascomycetes. Classification Pilei can be formed in various shapes, and the shapes can change over the course of the developmental cycle of a fungus. The most familiar pileus shape is hemispherical or ''convex.'' Convex pilei often continue to expand as they mature until they become flat. Many well-known species have a convex pileus, including the button mushroom, various ''Amanita'' species and boletes. Some, such as the parasol mushroom, have distinct bosses or umbos and are described as ''umbonate''. An umbo is a knobby protrusion at the center of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fungi Described In 1891
A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from the other eukaryotic kingdoms, which by one traditional classification include Plantae, Animalia, Protozoa, and Chromista. A characteristic that places fungi in a different kingdom from plants, bacteria, and some protists is chitin in their cell walls. Fungi, like animals, are heterotrophs; they acquire their food by absorbing dissolved molecules, typically by secreting digestive enzymes into their environment. Fungi do not photosynthesize. Growth is their means of mobility, except for spores (a few of which are flagellated), which may travel through the air or water. Fungi are the principal decomposers in ecological systems. These and other differences place fungi in a single group of related organisms, named the ''Eumycota'' (''true f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lyophyllaceae
The Lyophyllaceae is a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. A 2008 estimate indicated eight genera and 157 species; , the Catalog of Life lists 13 genera in the family. Lyophyllaceae was circumscribed by mycologist Walter Jülich in 1981. Some species are popular as edible fungi, such as the brown beech mushroom ''Hypsizygus tessellatus'' and '' Lyophyllum shimeji''. Genera The family currently includes the following genera: *'' Asterophora'' *'' Blastosporella'' *'' Calocybe'' *'' Calocybella'' *'' Gerhardtia'' *'' Hypsizygus'' *'' Lyophyllopsis'' *''Lyophyllum'' *'' Myochromella'' *'' Ossicaulis'' *'' Rugosomyces'' *'' Sagaranella'' *''Tephrocybe'' *'' Tephrocybella'' *''Termitomyces ''Termitomyces'' is a genus of basidiomycete fungi belonging to the family Lyophyllaceae. There are 30-40 species in the genus, all of which are completely dependent on termites to survive. They are the food source for a subfamily of termites, th ...'' *'' Termitosphaera'' See also * Lis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Namibian Culture
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. Although it does not border Zimbabwe, less than 200 metres (660 feet) of the Botswanan right bank of the Zambezi River separates the two countries. Namibia gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following the Namibian War of Independence. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek. Namibia is a member state of the United Nations (UN), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU) and the Commonwealth of Nations. The driest country in sub-Saharan Africa, Namibia has been inhabited since pre-historic times by the San, Damara and Nama people. Around the 14th century, immigrating Bantu peoples arrived as part of the Bantu expansion. Since then, the Bantu groups, the largest being the Ovambo, ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Odontotermes Patruus
''Odontotermes'', commonly known as the fungus-growing termites, is a termite genus belonging to family Termitidae, which is native to the Old World. They are most destructive in wooden homes, and are agricultural pests in the tropics and subtropics of Africa and Asia. It is the most diverse termite genus in Africa, with 78 species recorded (as of 2002). Nests Their underground nests form a slight mound above ground, which may be covered in grass. In large colonies, the mounds may be up to in diameter, and may be covered by shrubs and trees. Some species construct open chimneys or vent holes that descend into the mound. The fungal garden is enveloped by a thick layer of clay. Castes The queen is imprisoned in a clay cell in the midst of the fungal garden at the center of the hive. The African species have a single soldier cast, unlike the related genus ''Macrotermes''. Food Their only food is the fungus grown in the fungal garden at the center of the nest. The fungus is cultiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Partial Veil
In mycology, a partial veil (also called an inner veil, to differentiate it from the "outer", or universal veil) is a temporary structure of tissue found on the fruiting bodies of some basidiomycete fungi, typically agarics. Its role is to isolate and protect the developing spore-producing surface, represented by gills or tubes, found on the lower surface of the cap. A partial veil, in contrast to a universal veil, extends from the stem surface to the cap edge. The partial veil later disintegrates, once the fruiting body has matured and the spores are ready for dispersal. It might then give rise to a stem ring, or fragments attached to the stem or cap edge. In some mushrooms, both a partial veil and a universal veil may be present. Structure In the immature fruit bodies of some basidiomycete fungi, the partial veil extends from the stem surface to the cap margin and shields the gills during development, and later breaks to expose the mature gills. The presence, absence, or struct ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hypha
A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one or more cells surrounded by a tubular cell wall. In most fungi, hyphae are divided into cells by internal cross-walls called "septa" (singular septum). Septa are usually perforated by pores large enough for ribosomes, mitochondria, and sometimes nuclei to flow between cells. The major structural polymer in fungal cell walls is typically chitin, in contrast to plants and oomycetes that have cellulosic cell walls. Some fungi have aseptate hyphae, meaning their hyphae are not partitioned by septa. Hyphae have an average diameter of 4–6 µm. Growth Hyphae grow at their tips. During tip growth, cell walls are extended by the external assembly and polymerization of cell wall components, and the internal production of new cell membrane. The S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sporocarp (fungi)
The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cycle, while the rest of the life cycle is characterized by vegetative mycelial growth and asexual spore production. The sporocarp of a basidiomycete is known as a ''basidiocarp'' or ''basidiome'', while the fruitbody of an ascomycete is known as an '' ascocarp''. Many shapes and morphologies are found in both basidiocarps and ascocarps; these features play an important role in the identification and taxonomy of fungi. Fruitbodies are termed ''epigeous'' if they grow on the ground, while those that grow underground are ''hypogeous''. Epigeous sporocarps that are visible to the naked eye, especially fruitbodies of a more or less agaricoid morphology, are often called mushrooms. Epigeous sporocarps have mycelia that extend underground far ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macrotermes Michaelseni
''Macrotermes michaelseni'' is a species of termite in the family Termitidae, found in sub-Saharan Africa. It is associated with the fungus ''Termitomyces schimperi''. Distribution and habitat ''M. michaelseni'' is one of a number of ''Macrotermes'' species occurring in savannahs in sub-Saharan Africa. These species vary in their different soil preferences, some preferring moist habitats, with ''M. michaelseni'' being tolerant of drier habitats than the others. It is common in the Okavango Delta in northern Botswana, an area that sees periodic flooding from summer rains in the catchment area; clay soils and high groundwater levels are favourable to it, and there are up to six mounds per hectare in the delta area. Colony structure A ''M. michaelseni'' nest initially consists of a number of chambers and tunnels completely underground. A mound is built above the ground only in a mature colony, and in time becomes an enormous structure, with ridges, pinnacles and chimneys, up to t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Namibians
German Namibians (german: Deutschnamibier) are a community of people descended from ethnic German colonists who settled in present-day Namibia. In 1883, the German trader Adolf Lüderitz bought what would become the southern coast of Namibia from Josef Frederiks II, a chief of the local Oorlam people, and founded the city of Lüderitz. The German government, eager to gain overseas possessions, annexed the territory soon after, proclaiming it German South West Africa (german: Deutsch-Südwestafrika). Small numbers of Germans subsequently immigrated there, many coming as soldiers (german: Schutztruppe), traders, diamond miners, or colonial officials. In 1915, during the course of World War I, Germany lost its colonial possessions, including South West Africa (see History of Namibia); after the war, the former German colony was administered as a South African mandate. The German settlers were allowed to remain and, until independence in 1990, German remained an official language o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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