PuffballPuffballs are a type of fungus featuring a ball-shaped fruiting body that, when mature, bursts on contact or impact, releasing a cloud of dust-like spores into the surrounding area. Puffballs belong to the division Basidiomycota and encompass several genera, including Calvatia, Calbovista and Lycoperdon. The puffballs were previously treated as a taxonomic group called the Gasteromycetes or Gasteromycetidae, but they are now known to be a polyphyletic assemblage.
Jelly fungusJelly fungi are a paraphyletic group of several heterobasidiomycetefungal orders from different classes of the subphylum Agaricomycotina: Tremellales, Dacrymycetales, Auriculariales and Sebacinales. These fungi are so named because their foliose, irregularly branched fruiting body is, or appears to be, the consistency of jelly. Actually, many are somewhat rubbery and gelatinous.
AscomycotaThe Ascomycota are a phylum in the kingdom Fungi that, together with the Basidiomycota, form the subkingdom Dikarya. Members of Ascomycota are commonly known as the sac fungi or ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species. The defining feature of this fungal group is the ascus (from Ancient Greek (askós)'sac, wineskin'), a microscopic sexual structure in which nonmotile spores, called ascospores, are formed.
Smut (fungus)The smuts are multicellular fungi characterized by their large numbers of teliospores. The smuts get their name from a Germanic word for 'dirt' because of their dark, thick-walled, and dust-like teliospores. They are mostly Ustilaginomycetes (phylum Basidiomycota) and comprise seven of the 15 orders of the subphylum. Most described smuts belong to two orders, Ustilaginales and Tilletiales.
DikaryaDikarya is a subkingdom of Fungi that includes the divisions Ascomycota and Basidiomycota, both of which in general produce dikaryons, may be filamentous or unicellular, but are always without flagella. The Dikarya are most of the so-called "higher fungi", but also include many anamorphic species that would have been classified as molds in historical literature. Phylogenetically the two divisions regularly group together.PolyporePolypores, also called bracket or shelf fungi, are a morphological group of basidiomycete-like gilled mushrooms and hydnoid fungi that form large fruiting bodies called conks, which are typically woody, circular, shelf- or bracket-shaped, with pores or tubes on the underside. Conks lie in a close planar grouping of separate or interconnected horizontal rows.
BoleteA bolete is a type of mushroom, or fungalfruiting body. It can be identified due to its unique cap. On the underside of the cap there is usually a spongy surface with pores, instead of the gills typical of mushrooms. A similar pore surface is found in polypores, but these species generally have a different physical structure from boletes, and have different microscopic characteristics than boletes. Many polypores have much firmer, often woody, flesh.
PhallaceaeThe Phallaceae are a family of fungi, commonly known as stinkhorns, within the order Phallales. Stinkhorns have a worldwide distribution, but are especially prevalent in tropical regions. They are known for their foul-smelling, sticky spore masses, or gleba, borne on the end of a stalk called the receptaculum.
AgaricAn agaric () is a type of fungalfruiting 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. It is a type of mushroom (or toadstool), the diverse group of agarics being lumped together as gilled mushrooms. "Agaric" can also refer more generally to any basidiomycete species characterized by an agaric-type fruiting body.
CantharellusCantharellus is a genus of mushrooms, commonly known as chanterelles (), a name which can also refer to the type species, Cantharellus cibarius. They are mycorrhizal fungi, meaning they form symbiotic associations with plants. Chanterelles may resemble a number of other species, some of which are poisonous. The name comes from the Greek word kantharos ('tankard, cup'). Chanterelles are one of the most recognized and harvested groups of edible mushrooms.
GeastralesThe Geastrales are an order of gasterocarpicbasidiomycetes (fungi) that are related to the Gomphales. The order contains the familiesGeastraceae—which include the "earthstars" formerly placed in Lycoperdales or Phallales,—and also , Sclerogastraceae and . About 160 species are classified in this order, divided among seven or eight genera, including Geastrum, Myriostoma and Sphaerobolus. Sphaerobolus species are known as "shotgun fungus" or "cannonball fungus".
FungusOrganism belonging to kingdom FungiA fungus (pl.: fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes yeasts, molds, and mushrooms. These organisms are classified in the biological kingdomFungi. A characteristic that places fungus in a different kingdom from plants, bacteria, and some protists is having chitin in their cell walls.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.