''Pholiota'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of small to medium-sized, fleshy

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 t ...

s in the family Strophariaceae. They are

saprobes 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 (f ...

that typically live on wood. The genus has a widespread distribution, especially in

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

regions, and contains about 150 species. ''Pholiota'' is derived from the Greek word ''pholis'', meaning "scale".

Taxonomic details

The genus ''Pholiota'' includes mushrooms, with scaly, glutinous to dry cap surfaces, and that frequently grow on wood or at the bases of trees or on decaying tree roots, and spores that are brown, light brown, or yellowish brown in deposit. These spores are smooth with a germ pore, although the germ pore can be quite narrow in species. Usually the species have pleurocystidia that include a type called chrysocystidia. There have been several varying concepts of the genus, ranging from a pre-

molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioche ...

era very broad concept that nowadays would include the genera ''

Phaeolepiota ''Phaeolepiota'' is a genus of fungi in the family Squamanitaceae. The genus is monotypic, containing the single species ''Phaeolepiota aurea''. Commonly known as golden bootleg or golden cap, ''P. aurea'' is an agaric (gilled mushroom) f ...

'', '' Phaeonematoloma'', '' Flammula'', '' Meottomyces'', some ''

Stropharia The genus ''Stropharia'' (sometimes known by the common name roundheads) is a group of medium to large agarics with a distinct membranous ring on the stipe. Well-known members of this genus include the edible ''Stropharia rugosoannulata'' and th ...

'' species, some ''

Hypholoma ''Hypholoma'' is a genus of fungi which are quite well known due to the commonness of sulphur tuft (''Hypholoma fasciculare'') on stumps in temperate woodlands. Species in this genus are easily recognizable because the dark spores create a dis ...

'' species, ''

Hemipholiota ''Hemipholiota'' is a genus of agaric fungi in the order Agaricales. It was originally proposed by Rolf Singer in 1962 as a subgenus of ''Pholiota'' to contain species with absent or sparse pleurocystidia and absent chrysocystidia. Henri Romagne ...

'', ''

Hemistropharia ''Hemistropharia'' is a genus of agarics of unclear classification, though possibly related to the Hymenogastraceae or Tubarieae. A monotypic genus, it contains the single species ''Hemistropharia albocrenulata''. This species, originally named ...

'', some '' Kuehneromyces'' and some ''

Phaeomarasmius ''Phaeomarasmius'' is a genus of fungi in the family Tubariaceae. It was formerly thought to belong in the family Inocybaceae The Inocybaceae are a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. Members of this family have a widespread distribution ...

'', etc. Currently the genus is restricted to a smaller but still large group of species that primarily grow on wood, causing a white rot, but other taxa occur on burnt ground following forest fires or camp fires, on peaty or forest soil, but none are known to be

mycorrhiza A mycorrhiza (from Greek μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. mycorrhizae, mycorrhiza or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant ...

l. Many species have prominent partial veils and form an

annulus Annulus (or anulus) or annular indicates a ring- or donut-shaped area or structure. It may refer to: Human anatomy * ''Anulus fibrosus disci intervertebralis'', spinal structure * Annulus of Zinn, a.k.a. annular tendon or ''anulus tendineus com ...

or annular ring on their

stipes Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

. None of the species have purplish or purplish brown spore prints. None form acanthocytes on their

mycelia Mycelium (plural mycelia) is a root-like structure of a fungus consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. Fungal colonies composed of mycelium are found in and on soil and many other substrates. A typical single spore germinates in ...

Selected species

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q584812 Agaricomycetes genera Strophariaceae