Secotioid fungi are an intermediate growth form between mushroom-like hymenomycetes and closed bag-shaped gasteromycetes, where an evolutionary process of gasteromycetation has started but not run to completion. Secotioid fungi may or may not have opening caps, but in any case they often lack the vertical geotropic orientation of the hymenophore needed to allow the spores to be dispersed by wind, and the basidiospores are not forcibly discharged or otherwise prevented from being dispersed —note—some mycologists do not consider a species to be secotioid unless it has lost ballistospory.
The Agaricales are an order of fungi in the division Basidiomycota. As originally conceived, the order contained all the agarics, but subsequent research has shown that not all agarics are closely related and some belong in other orders, such as the Russulales and Boletales. Conversely, DNA research has also shown that many non-agarics, including some of the clavarioid fungi and gasteroid fungi belong within the Agaricales. The order has 46 extant families, more than 400 genera, and over 25,000 described species, along with six extinct genera known only from the fossil record. Species in the Agaricales range from the familiar Agaricus bisporus and the deadly Amanita virosa to the coral-like Clavaria zollingeri and bracket-like Fistulina hepatica.
The Boletaceae are a family of mushroom-forming fungi, primarily characterised by small pores on the spore-bearing hymenial surface, instead of gills as are found in most agarics. Nearly as widely distributed as the agarics, the family is renowned for hosting some prime edible species highly sought after by mushroom hunters worldwide, such as the cep or king bolete . A number of rare or threatened species are also present in the family, that have become the focus of increasing conservation concerns. As a whole, the typical members of the family are commonly known as boletes.
The Russulaceae are a diverse family of fungi in the order Russulales, with roughly 1,900 known species and a worldwide distribution. They comprise the brittlegills and the milk-caps, well-known mushroom-forming fungi that include some edible species. These gilled mushrooms are characterised by the brittle flesh of their fruitbodies.
Russula is a very large genus composed of around 750 worldwide species of ectomycorrhizal mushrooms. They are typically common, fairly large, and brightly colored – making them one of the most recognizable genera among mycologists and mushroom collectors. Their distinguishing characteristics include usually brightly coloured caps, a white to dark yellow spore print, brittle, attached gills, an absence of latex, and absence of partial veil or volva tissue on the stem. Microscopically, the genus is characterised by the amyloid ornamented spores and flesh (trama) composed of spherocysts. Members of the related genus Lactarius have similar characteristics but emit a milky latex when their gills are broken. The genus was described by Christian Hendrik Persoon in 1796.
The Marasmiaceae are a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. Basidiocarps are most frequently agarics, but occasionally cyphelloid. According to a 2008 estimate, the family contained 54 genera and 1590 species, but recent molecular research, based on cladistic analysis of DNA sequences, has led to a more restricted family concept so that the Marasmiaceae now includes just 13 genera and some 1205 species.
Amanita gemmata, commonly known as the gemmed amanita or the jonquil amanita, is an agaric mushroom of the family Amanitaceae and genus Amanita. The fruit body has a cap that is a dull to golden shade of yellow, and typically 2.5–12 cm in diameter. The cap surface is sticky when moist, and characterized by white warts, which are easily detached. It is initially convex, and flattens out when mature. The flesh is white and does not change colour when cut. The gills are white and closely spaced. The stem is pale yellow, and measures 4–12 cm long by 0.5–1.9 cm thick. The partial veil that covers the young fruit body turns into the ring on the stem at maturity. The spore print is white, while the spores are roughly elliptical, and measure 8–10 by 6.5–7.5 μm.
Boletus is a genus of mushroom-producing fungi, comprising over 100 species. The genus Boletus was originally broadly defined and described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, essentially containing all fungi with hymenial pores instead of gills. Since then, other genera have been defined gradually, such as Tylopilus by Petter Adolf Karsten in 1881, and old names such as Leccinum have been resurrected or redefined. Some mushrooms listed in older books as members of the genus have now been placed in separate genera. These include such as Boletus scaber, now Leccinum scabrum, Tylopilus felleus, Chalciporus piperatus and Suillus luteus. Most boletes have been found to be ectomycorrhizal fungi, which means that they form a mutualistic relationship with the roots system of certain kinds of plants. More recently, Boletus has been found to be massively polyphyletic, with only a small percentage of the over 300 species that have been assigned to Boletus actually belonging there and necessitating the description and resurrection of many more genera.
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.
Melanoleuca is a poorly known genus of saprotrophic mushrooms traditionally classified in the family Tricholomataceae. Most are small to medium sized, white, brown, ocher or gray with a cylindrical to subcylindrical stipe and white to pale yellowish gills. The basidiospores are ellipsoid and ornamented with amyloid warts. Melanoleuca is considered a difficult group to study due to their macroscopic similarities among species and the need of a thorough microscopic analysis to separate species. DNA studies have determined that this genus is closely related to Amanita and Pluteus and that it does not belong to the family Tricholomataceae.
Pholiota is a genus of small to medium-sized, fleshy mushrooms in the family Strophariaceae. They are saprobes that typically live on wood. The genus has a widespread distribution, especially in temperate regions, and contains about 150 species.
The Physalacriaceae are a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. Species in the family have a widespread distribution, ranging from the Arctic, (Rhizomarasmius), to the tropics, e.g. Gloiocephala, and from marine sites (Mycaureola) and fresh waters (Gloiocephala) to semiarid forests (Xerula).
The Mycenaceae are a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. According to the Dictionary of the Fungi, the family contains 10 genera and 705 species. This is one of several families that were separated from the Tricholomataceae as a result of phylogenetic analyses. Taxa in the Mycenaceae are saprobic, have a cosmopolitan distribution, and are found in almost all ecological zones. The family was circumscribed by Caspar van Overeem in 1926.
Amanita bisporigera is a deadly poisonous species of fungus in the family Amanitaceae. It is commonly known as the eastern destroying angel amanita, the eastern North American destroying angel or just as the destroying angel, although the fungus shares this latter name with three other lethal white Amanita species, A. ocreata, A. verna and A. virosa. The fruit bodies are found on the ground in mixed coniferous and deciduous forests of eastern North America south to Mexico, but are rare in western North America; the fungus has also been found in pine plantations in Colombia. The mushroom has a smooth white cap that can reach up to 10 cm (4 in) across, and a stipe, up to 14 cm (5.5 in) long by 1.8 cm (0.7 in) thick, that has a delicate white skirt-like ring near the top. The bulbous stipe base is covered with a membranous sac-like volva. The white gills are free from attachment to the stalk and crowded closely together. As the species name suggests, A. bisporigera typically bears two spores on the basidia, although this characteristic is not as immutable as was once thought.
Panellus is a genus of more than 50 mushroom species of fungi in the family Mycenaceae as defined molecularly. Prior to molecular analyses the generic name had been used for any white-spored pleurotoid with amyloid spores. Unrelated but similar species are now classified in Sarcomyxa and Scytinotus. In older guides and other literature the type species had been placed in either Pleurotus or Panus and the poroid species had been classified in the synonymous genus Dictyopanus or in broadly defined genera like Polyporus (Polyporaceae) or the more closely allied Favolaschia (Mycenaceae). The closest molecular allies are Resinomycena and Cruentomycena.
Amanita rubrovolvata, commonly known as the red volva amanita, is a species of fungus in the family Amanitaceae. First described scientifically by the Japanese mycologist S. Imai in 1939, it is widely distributed in eastern Asia. The fungus produces small to medium-sized mushrooms, with reddish-orange caps up to 6.5 mm (0.26 in) wide. The stems are up to 100 mm (3.9 in) tall, cream above the ring and cream to yellowish below it. The stem ends in a roughly spherical bulb at the base, which is covered with bright orange patches. Neither edibility nor toxicity have been established for the fungus, but it is suspected to be associated with neurological anomalies. Several molecular studies have confirmed the mushroom's classification in the subgenus Amanita of the genus Amanita, along with closely related species such as A. muscaria.
Volvopluteus is a genus of small to medium-sized or big saprotrophic mushrooms growing worldwide. The genus has been segregated from Volvariella with which it shares some morphological characteristics such as the presence of a volva and a pink to pink-brown spore print. Phylogenetic analyses of DNA data have shown that Volvopluteus is closely related to Pluteus and both genera currently are classified in the family Pluteaceae, while Volvariella is not closely related to either genus and its position in the Agaricales is still uncertain.
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 Romagnesi raised it to generic status in 1980, but this naming was invalid as it did not meet the requirements of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants. Marcel Bon published the genus validly in 1986.
Phaeogalera is a small genus of slender, fleshy bog and swamp-inhabiting mushrooms with large, brownish spores with a germ pore and a hymenium lacking chrysocystidia. Phaeogalera resemble Galerina in their habitat, macroscopic appearance, and spore print color, however, their microscopic characteristics more closely resemble Psilocybe. The type species, Phaeogalera stagnina, has an Arctic-alpine distribution in the Northern Hemisphere extending into the boreal forests and taiga. It grows along the edges of bogs in peaty soils and sometimes amongst Sphagnum or other mosses. This type species has been classified in Galerina, Tubaria and Psilocybe. Modern molecular evidence supports the recognition of Phaeogalera as an independent genus separate from Galerina. The generic name is built upon the antiquated generic name "Galera", now synonymous with Galerina, and with a reference to the darker colors of the basidiospores of Phaeogalera. When originally proposed by Kühner, he forgot to fully cite the original publication for the type species which explains by the name was later validly published by Pegler & Young in 1975. The genus Meottomyces was segregated from Phaeogalera after briefly being classified together by Romagnesi.
The genus Saproamanita contains about 24 species of agarics and is one of six genera in the family Amanitaceae. The others are Amanita, Catatrama, Limacellopsis, Zhuliangomyces and Limacella. Saproamanita are the saprophytic species in the Tribe Amaniteae, separately classified from the ectomycorrhizal species in the genus Amanita.
