This glossary of mycology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to mycology, the study of fungi. Terms in common with other fields, if repeated here, generally focus on their mycology-specific meaning. Related terms can be found in glossary of biology and glossary of botany, among others. List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names and Botanical Latin may also be relevant, although some prefixes and suffixes very common in mycology are repeated here for clarity.
Prefix meaning "without" or "not". [1]
Organisms that can grow in high-acidity environments; in mycology, lichens that can grow in peaty soil or on acidic tree bark. [6]
Formed at the apex and along the sides; e.g. conidia of Trichothecium . [8]
Adhering; attached to the stipe throughout its width, esp. of lamellae or tubes. Compare with free. [10]
The relatively large fruiting body of many slime molds (Myxomycetes). From Gr. aíthalos , soot. [12]
An asexual state of a fungus, characterized by the presence of conidia and the absence of sexual spores. [16]
A ring-like covering around the stipe after expansion of the pileus. [20]
The male sexual organ (gametangium) of fungi. Produces either antherozoids (flagellate gametes or sperm) or gametic nuclei. [21]
At the tip or end (apex). [22]
Having no stem or pedicel, such as a pileus lacking a stipe and directly attached to the substrate. Found in sporangia of Perichanea for example. From Gr. podos, foot. [25]
A type of fruiting body that, at maturity, opens to expose the hymenium of asci; commonly assumes shape of a cup or saucer. The stipe is sometimes lichenized. From Gr. apotheke , storehouse. [26]
Flattened, or closely applied; e.g. of scales or fibers. [28]
A swelling at the end of a germ tube or other hypha that adheres to the surface of its host and penetrates it with infection hyphae. Characteristic of plant pathogenic fungi such as Phytophthora and Colletotrichum , as well as parasites of animals such as Entomophthora . [29]
Fungi that live in water. Sometimes subdivided into freshwater-living fungi and marine fungi for saltwater-living fungi. Freshwater fungi include: Many zoosporic fungi of Chytridiomycota , Chytridiales , and Saprolegniales ; some saxicolous lichens of Lichinaceae that live on submerged rocks; aquatic hyphomycetes or Ingoldian fungi, a group of mitosporic fungi that live in freshwater with branched or sigmoidial spores, often growing on dead leaves in streams; smuts of aquatic plants; and certain yeasts. [30]
A delimited space on a surface, separated from others by fissures or cracks. [33]
A method of thallic conidiogenesis that converts a hyphal element into a conindium (also called an arthrospore), fragmenting the hypha. Common in many basidiomycetes. Compare with holothallic. From Gr. arthron, joint. [34]
A prefix meaning sac, bladder, or ascus. From Gr. askós , vessel, bag, or wineskin. [35]
The asci-bearing fruiting body of Ascomycetes. [36]
A phylum of fungi characterized by the presence of an ascus, a sac-like structure where ascospores are produced. The largest group of fungi. Includes cup fungi or Discomycetes; most dermatophytes; the mycobiont part of most lichens; powdery mildews; and fungi that produce truffles. [37]
The reproductive cell of ascomycetes; where ascospores form and are contained. While sometimes traditionally restricted to only sexual reproduction, purely asexual mitosporic fungi have since been classified as having asci as well (List of mitosporic Ascomycota). [39]
Hyphae related to growth, nutrition, and asexual reproduction as opposed to sexual reproduction; the soma. [40]
A basidium-producing organ; the fruiting body of Basidiomycota. [44]
A phylum of fungi. Generally defined by sexual reproduction via basidiospores formed from a basidium, although a few purely anamorphic basidiomycetes exist. Typically mycelial, although some are yeasts and some are dimorphic. Basidiomycetes include earth balls; earthstars; false truffles; jelly fungi; many mushrooms; polypores; puffballs; most rusts; most smuts; and stinkhorns. [45]
A cell or organ where basidiospores are produced, generally four. Basidia are characteristic of basidiomycetes. From Greek basis, base. [47]
A type of asexual cellular multiplication. A small outgrowth or bud from a parent cell enlarges and eventually separates from the parent cell. Typical in yeasts and many molds. Sometimes divided by how many buds are made, with monopolar, bipolar, and multipolar budding for one/two/many respectively. [52]
The stalked, globose, apical apothecium of lichens of the order Caliciales . [54]
Combining forms meaning "fruit". From Gr. karpós , fruit. [55]
Arranged in chains or end-to-end series. Catenulate is the diminutive form for small chains. From Latin catena, a chain. [57]
A phylum of fungi. Informally known as chytrids. Characterized by chitinous cell walls and reproduction via zoospores, which are usually uniflagellate in the posterior although rarely polyflagellate. Many are saprobes that live in freshwater (see aquatic fungi) or the soil. [62]
A curl-like tuft; usually refers to a tendril-like mass of forced-out spores. [63]
A hyphal outgrowth that makes a connection during cell division between the resulting two cells by fusion. Generally associated with mycelium of Basidiomycetes. [64]
A closed fruit body that has no pre-defined opening; opens by rupture. Seen, e.g., in ascoma of Thielavia or in Erysiphales . [66]
A sterile central axis within a fruiting body (sporocarp) or sporangium. [71]
Any multi-hyphal, conidia-bearing structure. An umbrella term that includes various traditional conidia-bearing structures such as a synnema, a sporodochium, an acervulus, or a pycnidium. [75]
A specialized hypha bearing or consisting of conidiogenous cells upon which conidia develop. [76]
A thin-walled, asexual spore borne on specialized hypha known as conidiophores. From Gr. konidion, diminutive of konis (dust). [77]
A thick outer-covering or rind, generally of a fruiting body. From Latin cutus, bark. [78]
The hook of an ascogenous hypha before development of the ascus. [80]
Crust-like or having a hard surface layer, e.g. in a sporocarp; in lichens, a thallus firmly fixed to the substratum by the whole of their lower surface, generally lacking a distinct lower cortex. [82]
A break in the lower cortex of a lichen thallus which appears as a cup-like structure or marking. Characteristic of Sticta . From Gr. kyphella, the hollow of an ear. [83]
A large, sterile cell on the surface of a basidioma, particularly the hymenium from which it frequently projects. [85]
The skin condition caused by a dermatophyte infection. [89]
A single cell (dikaryon) having two genetically distinct haploid nuclei. [94]
Having two forms, e.g. both yeast and mycelial forms. Examples include Histoplasma and Sporothrix . [95]
A class of saucer-shaped and cup-shaped Ascomycetes in which the hymenium is exposed at maturity; one in which the fruit body is an apothecium (discocarp). Prominent members include Pezizales, Helotiales, Ostropales, and Lecanorales. [97]
Thalli where reproductive structures only develop on limited portions during fructication. The rest of the thallus remains in its original assimilative function. Compare holocarpic. If they have one sporangium, they are monocentric; if they have several sporgangia, they are polycentric. The vast majority of fungi are eucarpic. [116]
Invasive, not indigenous; especially for organisms not adapted to a particular soil. [119]
Curved, like a sickle or scythe. From Latin falx and falcis, sickle. [121]
A chemical change caused by enzymes of living organisms. In mycology, typically yeasts and molds performing anaerobic breakdowns such as changing carbohydrates to carbon dioxide and alcohol. Part of the creation of fermented foods and fermented drinks (most notably alcoholic beverages). [122]
1. Thread-like, or composed of filaments.
Wavy. From Latin flexus, bend. [127]
1. A hyphal cell that supports a sporogenous cell or thallus, specifically the support of the conidiophore in Aspergillus and the macroconidium of Fusarium .
Living on fruit. From Latin fructus, fruit. [138]
Living on shrubs. From Latin frutex, shrubs. [139]
Fungus-eating. [143]
Similar to a fungus in texture or morphology. [144]
A kingdom of organisms in Eukaryota. Fungi are distinguished based on their morphology, nutritional modes, and ecology. Typical traits are that they lack plastids, are osmotrophic (absorb nutrients from their environment), are never phagotrophic, lack an ameboid pseudopodal phase, cell walls are composed of a chitin-glucan complex, mitochondria have flattened cristae and perioxomes are nearly always present, and are mostly non-flagellate; flagella when present lack mastigonemes. From Gr. sphongos, σπόγγος, sponge. [145]
1. Another term for chlamydospores, sometimes restricted to specifically spores that broke free from the mycelium to be dispersed, often via water. From Latin gemma, "jewel"
The central, internal portion of the fruiting body of Gasteromycetes and underground Pezizales. [159]
Spores bearing one or more guttules (oil-like drops) inside, e.g. the ascospores of Podospora comata. [161]
A small drop or drop-like particle, especially oil-like globules in a spore resembling a nucleus. [162]
An obsolete division of fungi, characterized as having a plasmodium. Subsumed by Myxomycota (true slime molds) in later literature. [163]
An ascoma in which the perithecium is in a loose hyphal network. [164]
Curved; folded and wavy, like a brain. [165]
A hyphal branch for absorption of food. It penetrates the wall of the living host cell. Found in certain parasitic fungal plant pathogens, such as Phytophthora . [168]
Having two or more genetically distinct nuclei in a common cytoplasm, making a combined cell. [169]
1. A grouping of organisms within Chromista that includes Pseudofungi.
A scar after a spore is discharged; was previously the point of attachment of a basidiospore to the sterigma. From Latin hilum, mask. [173]
Having genetically identical (or near-identical) nuclei, e.g. in a mycelium. [179]
A single filament of a mycelium. From Gr. hyphe , weaving. [186]
An artificial class of mitosporic fungi that reproduces asexually. Traditionally subdivided into Agonomycetales, Hyphomycetales, Stilbellales, and Tuberculariales. [188]
A thick-walled resting spore; germinates only after a lapse of weeks or months. From Gr. hypnos, sleep. [189]
1. (Of lichens) The first growth of the hyphae, before differentiation has taken place. Usually of a crustaceous lichen's earliest stage, lacking a cortex and photobiont. Often persists as a colored layer on the bottom of the later stages of maturation.
A propagule for lichen growth; can both increase the surface area of a lichen and become detached from the thallus to disperse the lichen. Isidia are structures larger than soredia, and contain both the mycobiont and the photobiont. They are usually cylindrical, but can also be verrucose, clavate, and other shapes. [194]
Zoospores with flagella of roughly equal length. Seen in Ectrogella bacillariacearum and other aquatic zoosporic fungi. From Gr. kontos, a pole. [195]
A prefix meaning "nucleus." From Gr. karyon. [197]
The final stage in the fusion of two sexual nuclei, after plasmogamy, that forms the zygote nucleus, but before meiosis. [198]
An organelle that is the base of a zoospore flagellum. Connected to the nuclear membrane by means of a rhizoplast. Found in Blastocladia and Rhizophydiales, for example. [199]
A gill; a hymenium-covered vertical plate, generally of an agaric. Attaches to the stipe in a variety of ways, including: free, unattached; adnate, attached; adnexed, a partial attachment; sinuate, similar to adnate but with an S-shaped curve; decurrent, attached and also running further down the surface of the stipe. From Latin lamina, a thin plate. [201]
Like wool; covered with short-hair-like elements. [203]
Shaped like a double convex lens. [207]
A polycarbohydrate found in wall of the hyphae of many lichen-forming fungi, most characteristically Iceland moss. [212]
Living in or on wood, although not necessarily deriving nourishment from it, as do wood-decay fungi. [217]
Crescent-shaped, like a crescent moon. Sometimes synonymous with falcate. From Latin luna, moon. [219]
Fungi that exhibit bioluminescence, emitting light in certain conditions. [221]
Spotted; blotched. [225]
A sporangium that is a cylindrical outgrowth from the swollen tip of a sporangiophore. A chain-like row of sporangiospores are produced there. Characteristic of Mucorales; also found in some other zygomycetes. [231]
1. Having hyphae of small diameter.
Purely asexual fungi that reproduce by mitosis. [239]
A fungus of very small size, usually with microscopic sporocarps. [240]
Cells having a single nucleus each; having genetically identical haploid nuclei (monokaryon or haplont). Found, for example, in the mycelium of Agaricales. [241]
Like mucus, having the consistency of mucilage; slimy. [246]
Combining prefixes that mean "fungus". From Gr. mykēs and mykētos (μύκης), fungus. [250]
A mass of hyphae or fungal filaments; the thallus. [252]
Poisoning by larger fungi, usually mushrooms. [254]
A fungal disease of the skin, usually of the foot. [255]
Aggregate fungal life in the area under consideration; equivalent of the term flora in plants or fauna in animals. [257]
Fungal diseases of humans and animals (rarely, plants as well). [262]
True slime molds. No longer categorized as fungi, but were formerly categorized as such in older literature, and still studied in mycology; now considered part of Amorphea. Since reclassified as Myxogastria. From Gr. myxa , slime. [265]
Predatory fungi that trap, devour, and digest nematodes in the soil. [266]
The female sexual organ of Oomycetes, which at maturity contains one or more oospores. From Gr. gonos, progeny. [271]
Water molds. Traditionally considered fungi, but now classed as closer to algae. Part of the Chromista kingdom. Contain cellulose in their cell walls rather than chitin, and coenocytic hypae rather than septate hyphae. [272]
A reddish-purple dye traditionally extracted from lichen. [275]
A lid or cover. Usually refers to the lid-like apex of a sporangium or ascus found in some chytrids and Pezizales. [276]
A sterile upward-growing, basally-attached hypha in a hymenium, especially in ascomata of ascomycetes where they are generally filiform and clavate. The free ends frequently converge toward the ostiole and make a structure called an epithecium over the asci. Part of the hamathecium. Has a number of minor variants distinguished by names such as paraphysoid, pseudoparaphysis, pseudophysis, dikaryoparaphysis, and hyphidium. [281]
An asexual conidial head in the shape of a brush. Consists of a pedicel or conidiophore that supports a cluster of conidiogenous cells (phialides). Characteristic of Penicillium stipes. [286]
A rounded, oval ascocarp, characteristic of Pyrenomycetes and pyrenolichens. Can commonly be pyriform, obpyriform, beaked, or lageniform. [289]
A group of forms alike in morphology. Often means a group of organisms that are potentially interbreeding. In plant pathology, it means a group with similar preferences in plants targeted; a race may be adapted to target only a single cultivar of a plant. Tracking the history of an organism is phylogeny. From Old Italian razza, generation. [296]
The cap of basidiomata that bears the fertile hymenium. [298]
1. Fungi having more than one form in its life cycle, e.g. holomorphs comprising a teleomorph and one or more anamorphs.
A fungal disease caused by the water mold Phytophthora infestans ; cause of the Great Famine of Ireland and other potato famines. [306]
Any structure that serves to spread the organism, both via propagation of new organisms as well as vegetatively increasing a single organism's size. In fungi, generally spores, bulbils, fragments of mycelium, isidia, soredia, and others. [307]
A subdivision of Chromista consisting of organisms similar to fungi and traditionally studied in mycology, including Oomycota, Hyphochytriomycota, Labyrinthulomycota, and Thraustochytriales. Contrasted with Eumycota, true fungi. [309]
A type of plectenchyma made of tightly packed, angular or polyhedral cells. [310]
A stroma formed of both fungal tissue and remnant tissues of a host plant. [311]
Fruit body (basidioma) of Lycoperdales . Emits a cloud of spores when disturbed ("puffing"). [312]
Marked with small points. [314]
An asexual fruiting body (conidioma), generally flask-shaped, lined entirely by conidiogenous cells. [316]
Pear-shaped. [317]
Kidney-like or bean-like in form, e.g. of spores. From Latin renes, kidney, or faba, a broad bean. [321]
A sister group of quasi-fungi that lack chitinous cell walls. Traditionally considered chytrids, but have since been separated and reclassified in the 2010s. Phagotrophs rather than osmotrophes. Rozella , a group of obligate endoparasites, is possibly the earliest diverging lineage of fungi. [326]
An organism that uses dead organic material as food. [330]
A hardened, often rounded, mass of hyphae, normally having no spores. May give rise to a fruit body, a stroma (as in ergot), conidiophores, or mycelium. Can be a store of nutrients as part of perennation; can reinitiate vegetative growth after conditions have improved and a season has passed. [334]
Like a shield or round plate in shape. From Latin scutum, shield. [335]
A cell wall in a hypha. [341]
1. The assimilative (sustaining) body of an organism, distinguished from reproductive parts or phases. From Gr. soma , body.
A propagule for vegetative lichen growth; a combination of phycobiont algae wrapped by mycobiont hyphae, and produced on a lichen thallus. Has the appearance of a powdery granule. From Latin soredium, a small heap. [348]
A heap of spores. Fruiting structure in certain fungi, including the spore mass of rusts, but also Acrasidae and Synchytriaceae. From Gr. soros , heap. [349]
Having spines. [351]
A vesicle-rich body surrounded by actin filaments found in the growing tips of most fungi during periods of growth. Densely staining. [353]
Prefixes meaning "spore". From Gr. spora , seed.
A small sporangium of Mucorales producing a small number of sporangiospores. [354]
A sac-like structure that produces spores endogenously. From Gr. angeion , vessel. [357]
A unit for production, protection, and dissemination of spores. Sometimes divided into ascocarp, basidiocarp, and zyogosporocarp. [360]
The small, spicule-like (pointed) pedicel or structure upon which a basidiospore forms. From Gr. sterigma , support. [364]
A mass of vegetative hyphae where fertile hyphae, fruiting bodies, and spores are produced. Common among ascomycetes and anamorphic fungi; a few Pucciniales have them as well. [368]
A bundle of erect and sometimes fused conidiophores that make a conidioma together. Conidia are born at the apex, and sometimes along the sides as well. Characteristic of certain asexual fungi including Doratomyces , Dendrostilbella , and Graphium . [375]
The sexual state (or perfect state) of a fungus whose spores are produced by meiosis, i.e. characterized by ascomata or basidiomata. [376]
1. The vegetative tissue of a thallophyte. Usually synonymous with mycelium in fungi. From Latin thallus, young branch.
Elongated in shape with swellings and constrictions at intervals. Found, e.g., in mycelia of Torula . [379]
A reserve sugar of fungi, especially yeasts and ergots, and lichens. Hydrolyzed by the enzyme trehalase. [381]
A knob-like or wart-like excrescence. [387]
Having tubercles. [388]
Fungi that digest wood. Mostly basidiomycetes, although a few ascomycetes also possess this ability. Generally categorized into brown rot, which digests a tree's cellulose and hemicellulose but not its lignin; white rot, which can also digest lignin; and soft rots, which are similar to brown rots in attacking cellulose and hemicellulose, but require moist wood and available nitrogen, e.g. from nearby soil. Two other notable types are dry rot (a slight misnomer, as some dampness is still required), a brown rot caused by Serpula lacrimans ; and wet rot, several other species including cellar fungus. [402]
A motile sporangiospore, i.e. having flagella. [407]
A traditional major phylum of fungi; characterized by coenocytic mycelia. Divided into Mucoromycota and Zoopagomycota in 2016. Frequently saprobes or parasites of arthropods. [408]
The practice and study of yeasts and fermentation in brewing and wine-making. [413]
Basidiomycota is one of two large divisions that, together with the Ascomycota, constitute the subkingdom Dikarya within the kingdom Fungi. Members are known as basidiomycetes. More specifically, Basidiomycota includes these groups: agarics, puffballs, stinkhorns, bracket fungi, other polypores, jelly fungi, boletes, chanterelles, earth stars, smuts, bunts, rusts, mirror yeasts, and Cryptococcus, the human pathogenic yeast.
Ascomycota is a phylum of the kingdom Fungi that, together with the Basidiomycota, forms the subkingdom Dikarya. Its members 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", a microscopic sexual structure in which nonmotile spores, called ascospores, are formed. However, some species of Ascomycota are asexual and thus do not form asci or ascospores. Familiar examples of sac fungi include morels, truffles, brewers' and bakers' yeast, dead man's fingers, and cup fungi. The fungal symbionts in the majority of lichens such as Cladonia belong to the Ascomycota.
A hypha is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium.
In botany and mycology, a haustorium is a rootlike structure that grows into or around another structure to absorb water or nutrients. For example, in mistletoe or members of the broomrape family, the structure penetrates the host's tissue and draws nutrients from it. In mycology, it refers to the appendage or portion of a parasitic fungus, which performs a similar function. Microscopic haustoria penetrate the host plant's cell wall and siphon nutrients from the space between the cell wall and plasma membrane but do not penetrate the membrane itself. Larger haustoria do this at the tissue level.
A clamp connection is a hook-like structure formed by growing hyphal cells of certain fungi. It is a characteristic feature of basidiomycete fungi. It is created to ensure that each cell, or segment of hypha separated by septa, receives a set of differing nuclei, which are obtained through mating of hyphae of differing sexual types. It is used to maintain genetic variation within the hypha much like the mechanisms found in croziers (hooks) during the sexual reproduction of ascomycetes.
Nematophagous fungi are carnivorous fungi specialized in trapping and digesting nematodes. Around 160 species are known. Species exist that live inside the nematodes from the beginning and others that catch them, mostly with glue traps or in rings, some of which constrict on contact. Some species possess both types of traps. Another technique is to stun the nematodes using toxins, a method employed by Coprinus comatus, Stropharia rugosoannulata, and the family Pleurotaceae. The habit of feeding on nematodes has arisen many times among fungi, as is demonstrated by the fact that nematophagous species are found in all major fungal groups. Nematophagous fungi can be useful in controlling those nematodes that eat crops. Purpureocillium, for example, can be used as a bio-nematicide.
Hydnellum peckii is a fungus in the genus Hydnellum of the family Bankeraceae. It is a hydnoid species, producing spores on the surface of vertical spines or tooth-like projections that hang from the undersurface of the fruit bodies. It is found in North America, Europe, and was recently discovered in Iran (2008) and Korea (2010). Hydnellum peckii is a mycorrhizal species, and forms mutually beneficial relationships with a variety of coniferous trees, growing on the ground singly, scattered, or in fused masses.
A fungus 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 one of the traditional eukaryotic kingdoms, along with Animalia, Plantae and either Protista or Protozoa and Chromista.
Homothallic refers to the possession, within a single organism, of the resources to reproduce sexually; i.e., having male and female reproductive structures on the same thallus. The opposite sexual functions are performed by different cells of a single mycelium.
Placopyrenium is a genus of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichens in the family Verrucariaceae.
Mycetophagites is an extinct fungal genus of mycoparasitic in the order Hypocreales. A monotypic genus, it contains the single species Mycetophagites atrebora.
Baudoinia compniacensis is a sac fungus which has been observed on a variety of substrates in the vicinity of distilleries, spirits maturation facilities, bonded warehouses, and bakeries. The fungus is a habitat colonist with a preference for airborne alcohol, earning it the nickname whiskey fungus.
Purpureocillium lilacinum is a species of filamentous fungus in the family Ophiocordycipitaceae. It has been isolated from a wide range of habitats, including cultivated and uncultivated soils, forests, grassland, deserts, estuarine sediments and sewage sludge, and insects. It has also been found in nematode eggs, and occasionally from females of root-knot and cyst nematodes. In addition, it has frequently been detected in the rhizosphere of many crops. The species can grow at a wide range of temperatures – from 8 to 38 °C for a few isolates, with optimal growth in the range 26 to 30 °C. It also has a wide pH tolerance and can grow on a variety of substrates. P. lilacinum has shown promising results for use as a biocontrol agent to control the growth of destructive root-knot nematodes.
Leohumicola levissima is a species of fungus. It is named after the smooth walled appearance of its terminal conidial cells. It was first found in Crater Lake National Park, Oregon. The terminal cell of this species’ conidia remains smooth even after 3 months’ time, as opposed to the encrusted terminal cells of L. verrucosa and L. incrustata. Conidia of L. atra have similarly smooth terminal cells, but which are darker.
Arthrobotrys dactyloides is a species of fungus in the family Orbiliaceae. It is nematophagous, forming loops of hypha to trap nematodes, on which it then feeds.
Penicillium spinulosum is a non-branched, fast-growing fungus with a swelling at the terminal of the stipe (vesiculate) in the genus Penicillium. P. spinulosum is able to grow and reproduce in environment with low temperature and low water availability, and is known to be acidotolerant. P. spinulosum is ubiquitously distributed, and can often be isolated from soil. Each individual strain of P. spinulosum differs from others in their colony morphology, including colony texture, amount of sporulation and roughness of conidia and conidiophores.
Microascus manginii is a filamentous fungal species in the genus Microascus. It produces both sexual (teleomorph) and asexual (anamorph) reproductive stages known as M. manginii and Scopulariopsis candida, respectively. Several synonyms appear in the literature because of taxonomic revisions and re-isolation of the species by different researchers. M. manginii is saprotrophic and commonly inhabits soil, indoor environments and decaying plant material. It is distinguishable from closely related species by its light colored and heart-shaped ascospores used for sexual reproduction. Scopulariopsis candida has been identified as the cause of some invasive infections, often in immunocompromised hosts, but is not considered a common human pathogen. There is concern about amphotericin B resistance in S. candida.
Myriodontium keratinophilum is a fungus widespread in nature, most abundantly found in keratin-rich environments such as feathers, nails and hair. Despite its ability to colonize keratinous surfaces of human body, the species has been known to be non-pathogenic in man and is phylogentically distant to other human pathogenic species, such as anthropophilic dermatophytes. However, its occasional isolation from clinical specimens along with its keratinolytic properties suggest the possibility it may contribute to disease.
Xenodevriesia strelitziicola is a pathogenic ascomycete fungus in the class Dothideomycetes that infects the South African plant Strelitzia. It is the only species of the monotypic genus Xenodevriesia and family Xenodevriesiaceae.
Protocandelariella is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Candelariaceae. It has two species of squamulose (scaley), corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichens.