The Gomphidiaceae 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 ...

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

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 ...

in the order

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. ...

. Unlike other boletes, all members of Gomphidiaceae (except for ''Gomphogaster'') are

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 "mushroom ...

s, having

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 ...

instead of pores. Member genera include ''

Chroogomphus ''Chroogomphus'' is a genus of mushrooms commonly known as pine-spikes or spike-caps based on their shape and because they are often found growing in association with pine trees. The genus is distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere includ ...

'', '' Cystogomphus'', ''

Gomphidius ''Gomphidius'' is a genus of mushrooms, commonly known as spike-caps, that are members of the Boletales ( suborder Suillineae), or pored fungi. They appear to have gill-like structures which resemble those of agarics, however the similarity is s ...

'' and '' Gomphogaster'', the last being a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

genus (i.e. with a single species) that may be incorporated into Gomphidius in the future after molecular assessment. The similarly named genus '' Gomphus'' is unrelated to this family. Another genus ''Brauniellula'' has since been sunk into ''Chroogomphus''. Like all

agarics 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 ...

, this group was formerly classified in Agaricales. Nonetheless, many of the microscopic features of these fungi, such as spore shape, strongly suggested an affinity with

. This was later confirmed through molecular phylogenetic investigation, which demonstrated that Gomphidiaceae are more closely related to boletes than the "true" agarics of the Agaricales and that the development of

in this group was an independent evolutionary event from the development of gills in the Agaricales. Molecular phylogenetic investigations have also demonstrated Gomphidiaceae are nested well within Boletales, being more closely related to

Suillaceae The Suillaceae are a family of fungi in the order Boletales ( suborder Suillineae), containing the boletus-like ''Suillus'', the small truffle-like '' Truncocolumella'', as well as the monotypic genus '' Psiloboletinus''. As of 2008, there are 5 ...

than to

Boletaceae The Boletaceae are a family of mushroom-forming fungi, primarily characterised by small pores on the spore-bearing hymenial surface (at the underside of the mushroom), instead of gills as are found in most agarics. Nearly as widely distributed ...

, a finding that is supported by chemotaxonomic investigation of these groups. This family of fungi has been thought to be ectomycorrhizal, forming symbiotic relationship with their host trees, however, there is now evidence that many (and perhaps all) species in this group are

parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson ha ...

upon ectomycorrhizal

boletes {{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 surfa ...

, in relationships that are often highly species-specific.

References

Further reading