The Bolbitiaceae are a
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
of
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 ...
-forming
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 ...
fungi. A 2008 estimate placed 17
genera
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial ...
and 287 species in the family.
[ Bolbitiaceae was ]circumscribed
In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius.
Not every po ...
by mycologist Rolf Singer
Rolf Singer (June 23, 1906 – January 18, 1994) was a German-born mycologist and one of the most important taxonomists of gilled mushrooms (agarics) in the 20th century.
After receiving his Ph.D. at the University of Vienna in 1931 he worked ...
in 1948.
Description
This family is of 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 ...
-forming species that have a hymenium
The hymenium is the tissue layer on the hymenophore of a fungal fruiting body where the cells develop into basidia or asci, which produce spores. In some species all of the cells of the hymenium develop into basidia or asci, while in others som ...
on gills
A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...
, brown 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, ...
s and a hymenoderm pileipellis
The pileipellis is the uppermost layer of hyphae in the pileus of a fungal fruit body. It covers the trama, the fleshy tissue of the fruit body. The pileipellis is more or less synonymous with the cuticle, but the cuticle generally describes t ...
.
Differences in genera
'' Bolbitius'' are mushrooms which are thin, '' Mycena''-like, with gelatinous cap surface. These lack a veil
A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has been prominent ...
, are saprotrophic
Saprotrophic nutrition or lysotrophic nutrition is a process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion involved in the processing of decayed (dead or waste) organic matter. It occurs in saprotrophs, and is most often associated with fungi ( ...
, and tend to be found with grass.
'' Conocybe'' are mushrooms which are thin, ''Mycena''-like, with a dry cap surface. These are small and saprotrophic, and tend to be found with grass. These have cheilocystidia which are capitate.
'' Pholiotina'' are mushrooms which are thin, ''Mycena''-like, with a dry cap surface. These are small and saprotrophic, and tend to be found with grass, and have a veil. Some have a membranous veil, mid- stipe,
others the veil breaks up and can be found on the cap margin. These are separated from Conocybe in that the cheilocystidia are non-capitate.
'' Descolea'' includes ''Pholiotina''-like mushrooms that are ectomycorrhizal
An ectomycorrhiza (from Greek ἐκτός ', "outside", μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. ectomycorrhizas or ectomycorrhizae, abbreviated EcM) is a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbiont, or mycob ...
and have limoniform spores.
See also
*List of Agaricales families
The Agaricales are an order of fungi in the class Agaricomycetes (division Basidiomycota). It is the largest group of mushroom-forming fungi, and includes more than 400 genera and over 13,000 species. Molecular phylogenetics analyses of ribosomal ...
References
*
*
Bolbitiaceae
Taxa named by Rolf Singer
{{Agaricales-stub