fungi 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 ...

, a basidiocarp, basidiome, or basidioma () is the sporocarp of a

basidiomycete Basidiomycota () is one of two large divisions that, together with the Ascomycota, constitute the subkingdom Dikarya (often referred to as the "higher fungi") within the kingdom Fungi. Members are known as basidiomycetes. More specifically, Basi ...

, the

multicellular A multicellular organism is an organism that consists of more than one cell, in contrast to unicellular organism. All species of animals, land plants and most fungi are multicellular, as are many algae, whereas a few organisms are partially uni- ...

structure on which the

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...

-producing hymenium is borne. Basidiocarps are characteristic of the

hymenomycetes Hymenomycetes was formerly the largest taxonomic group of fungi within the division Basidiomycota, but the term is no longer taxonomically relevant. Many familiar fungi belong to this class, including bracket fungi and toadstools. This class cont ...

; rusts and smuts do not produce such structures. As with other sporocarps, epigeous (above-ground) basidiocarps that are visible to the naked eye (especially those with a more or less

agaricoid An agaric () is a type of fungus fruiting body characterized by the presence of a pileus (cap) that is clearly differentiated from the stipe (stalk), with lamellae (gills) on the underside of the pileus. In the UK, agarics are called "mushrooms ...

morphology) are commonly referred to as

mushrooms A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing Sporocarp (fungi), 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 na ...

, while hypogeous (underground) basidiocarps are usually called

false truffles A false truffle or a hymenogastrale is any species of fungus that has underground fruiting bodies that produce basidiocarps resembling the true truffles of genus ''Tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutr ...

Structure

All basidiocarps serve as the structure on which the hymenium is produced.

Basidia A basidium () is a microscopic sporangium (a spore-producing structure) found on the hymenophore of fruiting bodies of basidiomycete fungi which are also called tertiary mycelium, developed from secondary mycelium. Tertiary mycelium is highly-c ...

are found on the surface of the hymenium, and the basidia ultimately produce spores. In its simplest form, a basidiocarp consists of an undifferentiated fruiting structure with a hymenium on the surface; such a structure is characteristic of many simple jelly and

club fungi The clavarioid fungi are a group of fungi in the '' Basidiomycota'' typically having erect, simple or branched basidiocarps (fruit bodies) that are formed on the ground, on decaying vegetation, or on dead wood. They are colloquially called club fu ...

. In more complex basidiocarps, there is differentiation into a stipe, a pileus, and/or various types of

hymenophores A hymenophore refers to the hymenium-bearing structure of a fungal fruiting body. Hymenophores can be smooth surfaces, lamellae, folds, tubes, or teeth. The term was coined by Robert Hooke Robert Hooke FRS (; 18 July 16353 March 1703) was ...

Types

File:Amanita muscaria 3 vliegenzwammen op rij.jpg, Basidiocarps of ''

Amanita muscaria ''Amanita muscaria'', commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a basidiomycete of the genus ''Amanita''. It is also a muscimol mushroom. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, ''Amanita muscar ...

'', an agaric. File:Ramaria rugosa var cinerea.jpg, Basidiocarps of ''Ramaria rugosa'', a coral fungus File:Cantharellus tubiformis 050920w.jpg, Basidiocarps of ''

Craterellus tubaeformis ''Craterellus tubaeformis'' (formerly ''Cantharellus tubaeformis'') is an edible fungus, also known as yellowfoot, winter mushroom, or funnel chanterelle. It is mycorrhizal, forming symbiotic associations with plants, making it very challengi ...

'', a cantharelloid fungus. Basidiocarps are classified into various types of growth forms based on the degree of differentiation into a stipe, pileus, and hymenophore, as well as the type of hymenophore, if present. Growth forms include: *

jelly fungus Jelly fungi are a paraphyletic group of several heterobasidiomycete fungal orders from different classes of the subphylum Agaricomycotina: Tremellales, Dacrymycetales, Auriculariales and Sebacinales. These fungi are so named because their foli ...

– fruiting body is jelly-like. *

club fungus The clavarioid fungi are a group of fungi in the ''Basidiomycota'' typically having erect, simple or branched basidiocarps (fruit bodies) that are formed on the ground, on decaying vegetation, or on dead wood. They are colloquially called club fun ...

and

coral fungus The clavarioid fungi are a group of fungi in the ''Basidiomycota'' typically having erect, simple or branched basidiocarps (fruit bodies) that are formed on the ground, on decaying vegetation, or on dead wood. They are colloquially called club fun ...

– erect fruiting body without a distinct stalk and cap, either unbranched (club fungus) or profusely branched (coral fungus). *

polypore Polypores are a group of fungi that form large fruiting bodies with pores or tubes on the underside (see Delimitation for exceptions). They are a morphological group of basidiomycetes-like gilled mushrooms and hydnoid fungi, and not all polyp ...

– underside of the fruiting body usually consists of tubes; otherwise very variable, usually wood-inhabiting *tooth fungus or

hydnoid fungus The hydnoid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota with basidiocarps (fruit bodies) producing spores on pendant, tooth-like or spine-like projections. They are colloquially called tooth fungi. Originally such fungi were referred to the ge ...

- underside of the fruiting body composed of spines or teeth *

corticioid fungus The corticioid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota typically having effused, smooth basidiocarps (fruit bodies) that are formed on the undersides of dead tree trunks or branches. They are sometimes colloquially called crust fungi or p ...

- the underside of the fruiting body is usually smooth or with spines (vs. hydnoid fungi) but not poroid nor gilled; typically effused without caps *cantharelloid fungus – fruiting body with shallow fold-like gills running over most of the lower surface of the fruiting body and not much differentiation between the stalk and cap. *

gasteromycete The gasteroid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota. Species were formerly placed in the obsolete class Gasteromycetes Fr. (literally "stomach fungi"), or the equally obsolete order Gasteromycetales Rea, because they produce spores i ...

or "gastroid fungus" – fruiting body has a ball-like shape and in which the hymenophore has become entirely enclosed on the inside of the fruiting body. *

false truffle A false truffle or a hymenogastrale is any species of fungus that has underground fruiting bodies that produce basidiocarps resembling the true truffles of genus ''Tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutri ...

– like a gasteromycete, however, but with a

hypogeous Hypogeal, hypogean, hypogeic and hypogeous (; ) are biological terms describing an organism's activity below the soil surface. In botany, a seed is described as showing hypogeal germination when the cotyledons of the germinating seed remain non ...

(underground) fruiting body. * secotioid fungus – like a gasteromycete, but with a stalk. Thought to be an evolutionarily intermediate stage between a gasteromycete and an agaric. *

agaric An agaric () is a type of fungus fruiting body characterized by the presence of a pileus (cap) that is clearly differentiated from the stipe (stalk), with lamellae (gills) on the underside of the pileus. In the UK, agarics are called "mushrooms ...

or gill fungi – fruiting body with caps, gills, and (usually) a stalk. *

bolete {{refimprove, date=July 2020 A bolete is a type of mushroom, or fungal fruiting body. It can be identified thanks to a unique mushroom cap. The cap is clearly different from the stem. On the underside of the cap there is usually a spongy surf ...

– fleshy fruiting body with a cap, a stalk, and tubes on the underside. Basic divisions of

Agaricomycotina The subdivision Agaricomycotina, also known as the hymenomycetes, is one of three taxa of the fungal division Basidiomycota (fungi bearing spores on basidia). The Agaricomycotina contain some 20,000 species, and about 98% of these are in the cla ...

were formerly based entirely upon the growth form of the mushroom.

Molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

investigation (as well as supporting evidence from micromorphology and

chemotaxonomy Webster's Dictionary, Merriam-Webster defines ''chemotaxonomy'' as the method of biology, biological classification based on similarities and dissimilarity in the structure of certain chemical compound, compounds among the organisms being classifi ...

) has since demonstrated that similar types of basidiomycete growth form are often examples of

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...

and do not always reflect a close relationship between different groups of fungi. For example, agarics have arisen independently in the

Agaricales The fungal order Agaricales, also known as gilled mushrooms (for their distinctive gills) or euagarics, contains some of the most familiar types of mushrooms. The order has 33 extant families, 413 genera, and over 13,000 described species, alo ...

, the

Boletales The Boletales are an order of Agaricomycetes containing over 1300 species with a diverse array of fruiting body types. The boletes are the best known members of this group, and until recently, the Boletales were thought to only contain boletes. ...

, the

Russulales The Russulales are an order (biology), order of the Agaricomycetes, (which include the agaric genera ''Russula'' and ''Lactarius (fungus), Lactarius'' and their polypore, polyporoid and corticioid relatives). According to the ''Dictionary of the ...

, and other groups, while

secotioid fungi Secotioid fungi are an intermediate growth form between mushroom-like hymenomycetes and closed bag-shaped gasteromycetes, where an evolutionary process of gasteromycetation has started but not run to completion. Secotioid fungi may or may not ha ...

and false truffles have arisen independently many times just within the Agaricales.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Evolution & Morphology in the Homobasidiomycetes: The Clade/Morphology Chart
by Gary Lincoff & Michael Wood, ''MykoWeb'', November 27, 2005.

by Peter Werner, '' Mycena News'', December 2002. (Archived at ''MycoWeb'')
"Mycomorphology Part 2: Basidiocarp Keeps its Balance"
by Peter Werner, ''Mycena News'', March 2003. (Archived at ''MycoWeb'') Fungal morphology and anatomy

Structure

Types

See also

References

External links