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Edible mushrooms are the fleshy and edible fruit bodies of several species of macrofungi. Edibility may be defined by criteria including the absence of poisonous effects on humans and desirable taste and aroma. Edible mushrooms are consumed for their nutritional and culinary value. Mushrooms, especially dried shiitake, are sources of umami flavor.
A truffle is the fruiting body of a subterranean ascomycete fungus, predominantly one of the many species of the genus Tuber. In addition to Tuber, over one hundred other genera of fungi are classified as truffles including Geopora, Peziza, Choiromyces, and Leucangium. These genera belong to the class Pezizomycetes and the Pezizales order. Several truffle-like basidiomycetes are excluded from Pezizales, including Rhizopogon and Glomus. Truffles are ectomycorrhizal fungi, so they are usually found in close association with tree roots. Spore dispersal is accomplished through fungivores, animals that eat fungi. These fungi have significant ecological roles in nutrient cycling and drought tolerance.
Polypores are a group of fungi that form large fruiting bodies with pores or tubes on the underside. They are a morphological group of basidiomycetes-like gilled mushrooms and hydnoid fungi, and not all polypores are closely related to each other. Polypores are also called bracket fungi or shelf fungi, and they characteristically produce woody, shelf- or bracket-shaped or occasionally circular fruiting bodies that are called conks.
Agaricus bisporus, commonly known as the cultivated mushroom, is a basidiomycete mushroom native to grasslands in Eurasia and North America. It has two color states while immature – white and brown – both of which have various names, with additional names for the mature state, including portobello.
Agaricus is a genus of mushrooms containing both edible and poisonous species, with over 400 members worldwide and possibly again as many disputed or newly-discovered species. The genus includes the common ("button") mushroom and the field mushroom, the dominant cultivated mushrooms of the West.
Biological soil crusts are communities of living organisms on the soil surface in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. They are found throughout the world with varying species composition and cover depending on topography, soil characteristics, climate, plant community, microhabitats, and disturbance regimes. Biological soil crusts perform important ecological roles including carbon fixation, nitrogen fixation and soil stabilization; they alter soil albedo and water relations and affect germination and nutrient levels in vascular plants. They can be damaged by fire, recreational activity, grazing and other disturbances and can require long time periods to recover composition and function. Biological soil crusts are also known as biocrusts or as cryptogamic, microbiotic, microphytic, or cryptobiotic soils.
The Parmeliaceae is a large and diverse family of Lecanoromycetes. With over 2700 species in 71 genera, it is the largest family of lichen-forming fungi. The most speciose genera in the family are the well-known groups: Xanthoparmelia, Usnea, Parmotrema, and Hypotrachyna.
Agaricus campestris is a widely eaten gilled mushroom closely related to the cultivated button mushroom Agaricus bisporus. It is commonly known as the field mushroom or, in North America, meadow mushroom.
Agaricus bernardii, commonly called the salt-loving agaricus, or salt-loving mushroom, is an agaric fungus in the family Agaricaceae. A short, squat mushroom, the thick stem is usually less than the diameter of the cap, which ranges from 5–15 cm (2.0–5.9 in). Found in Asia, Europe, North America, New Zealand and Australia it is a salt-tolerant species that grows in salt marshes, dunes, and coastal grassland. The fungus produces fruit bodies (mushrooms) with convex to flattened caps up to 15 cm (5.9 in) in diameter, atop thick stems up to 10 cm (3.9 in) long. The cap surface is whitish to buff, and can develop scales or warts in age. Gills are initially pink before turning brown when the spores mature. The flesh turns reddish when it is cut or bruised. The mushroom somewhat resembles Agaricus bitorquis but it differs from that species by the reddish-brown staining of cap and stem tissue, the nature of the ring on the stem, as well as its briny odor. An edible mushroom, it is stronger in flavor but similar to the store-bought button mushrooms, Agaricus bisporus.
Podaxis is a genus of secotioid fungi in the family Agaricaceae. Species, which have the appearance of a "stalked-puffball", have a worldwide distribution, and tend to be found growing solitary or scattered on sandy soils, especially in arid regions. Although close to 50 species have been described, it has been argued that many of them may represent extremes in the natural range of variations found in Podaxis pistillaris.
Podaxis pistillaris is a very distinctive relative of the puffballs. It is commonly known as the desert shaggy mane, as it bears a superficial resemblance to the shaggy mane, Coprinus comatus; this species lacks the latter's deliquescing gills, however, and the two are not closely related. It grows to 15 cm high and has a hard, woody stem. The large cap, which protects the blackish spore-bearing tissue, splits, and usually falls away at maturity, allowing the spores to be dispersed by wind. Large numbers may appear after soaking rains. It thrives in deserts and semi-deserts of Australia and other countries, often found on termite mounds in South Africa. In the Hawaiian Islands, it is frequently encountered along roadsides and in disturbed areas on the dry sides of the islands, especially in the Kona area of Hawaii and the Kihei area of Maui.
Atheliaceae is a family of corticioid fungi placed under the monotypic order Atheliales. Both the order and the family were described by Walter Jülich in 1981. According to a 2008 estimate, the family contains 20 genera and approximately 100 species. However, many genera formerly considered to belong in the Atheliaceae have since been moved to other families, including Amylocorticiaceae, Albatrellaceae, and Hygrophoraceae. Despite being a relatively small group with inconspicuous forms, Atheliaceae members show great diversity in life strategies and are widespread in distribution. Additionally, being a group strictly composed of corticioid fungi, they may also provide insights on the evolution of fruiting body forms in basidiomycetes.
The Graphidaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Graphidales. The family contains nearly a hundred genera and more than 2000 species. Although the family has a cosmopolitan distribution, most Graphidaceae species occur in tropical regions, and typically grow on bark.
Verrucariaceae is a family of lichens and a few non-lichenised fungi in the order Verrucariales. The lichens have a wide variety of thallus forms, from crustose (crust-like) to foliose (bushy) and squamulose (scaly). Most of them grow on land, some in freshwater and a few in the sea. Many are free-living but there are some species that are parasites on other lichens, while one marine species always lives together with a leafy green alga.
Cortinarius violaceus, commonly known as the violet webcap or violet cort, is a fungus in the webcap genus Cortinarius native across the Northern Hemisphere. The fruit bodies are dark purple mushrooms with caps up to 15 cm (6 in) across, sporting gills underneath. The stalk measures 6 to 12 centimetres by 1 to 2 cm, sometimes with a thicker base. The dark flesh has a smell reminiscent of cedar wood. Forming symbiotic (ectomycorrhizal) relationships with the roots of various plant species, C. violaceus is found predominantly in conifer forests in North America and deciduous forests in Europe.
Agaricus deserticola, commonly known as the gasteroid agaricus, is a species of fungus in the family Agaricaceae. Found only in southwestern and western North America, A. deserticola is adapted for growth in dry or semi-arid habitats. The fruit bodies are secotioid, meaning the spores are not forcibly discharged, and the cap does not fully expand. Unlike other Agaricus species, A. deserticola does not develop true gills, but rather a convoluted and networked system of spore-producing tissue called a gleba. When the partial veil breaks or pulls away from the stem or the cap splits radially, the blackish-brown gleba is exposed, which allows the spores to be dispersed.
Antarctica is one of the most physically and chemically extreme terrestrial environments to be inhabited by lifeforms. The largest plants are mosses, and the largest animals that do not leave the continent are a few species of insects.
The Caliciaceae are a family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. Although the family has had its classification changed several times throughout its taxonomic history, the use of modern molecular phylogenetic methods have helped to establish its current placement in the order Caliciales. Caliciaceae contains 36 genera and about 600 species. The largest genus is Buellia, with around 300 species; there are more than a dozen genera that contain only a single species.
Agaricus brunneofibrillosus, commonly known as the bleeding agaricus, is a mushroom in the family Agaricaceae. It has a medium to dark brown cap up to 6 cm (2.4 in) in diameter with brownish fibrillose scales that darken in age. The tightly-packed gills are initially cream colored before becoming pinkish, lilac-gray, and finally brownish as the spores mature. The stout stem is enlarged to bulbous at the base which has one or more brown bands, and a white, membranous ring. The mushroom is edible, and has a pleasant odor similar to button mushrooms, and tastes similar to Agaricus bisporus when cooked.
The fungal loop hypothesis suggests that soil fungi in arid ecosystems connect the metabolic activity of plants and biological soil crusts which respond to different soil moisture levels. Compiling diverse evidence such as limited accumulation of soil organic matter, high phenol oxidative and proteolytic enzyme potentials due to microbial activity, and symbioses between plants and fungi, the fungal loop hypothesis suggests that carbon and nutrients are cycled in biotic pools rather than leached or effluxed to the atmosphere during and between pulses of precipitation.
References
- ↑ Grishkan, I., E. Zaady & E. Nevo. (2006) "Soil crust microfungi along as southward rainfall gradient in desert ecosystems." Eur. J. Soil Biol.42: 33-42.
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The Desert fungi adapts to their environment with their morphological features to allow for nutrients and water to enter through their pores. . Not only have desert fungi learned to fend for themselves, they've also became a survival mechanism for the community organisms as well promoting growth and advances.