Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Patellariaceae Apothecia leathery, horny, carti-
laginous, or gelatinous; tips of paraphyses united
to form an epithecium; asci thick-walled. Now
placed in order Patellariales; no family.
Mollisiaceae Apothecia waxy or fleshy; perid-
ium of rounded or angular, mostly thin-walled,
dark cells forming a pseudoparenchyma.
Helotiaceae Apothecia soft, fleshy, stalked;
peridium of elongate, thin-walled, bright-colored
hyphae, arranged in parallel strands.
Sclerotiniaceae Apothecia arising from
a definite sclerotium or stromatized portion of
the substratum; stalked, cup-shaped, funnel-
form, or saucer-shaped; usually brown; asci
inoperculate, usually eight-spored; spores ellip-
soidal, often flattened on one side, usually hya-
line; spermatia globose to slightly ovate; conidial
forms lacking in many genera. These families are
fromMartin's 1954
Key to Families
. His 1961 list
puts Ostropaceae in the Ostropales and
Patellariaceae in the Hysteriales. Ainsworth and
Bisby list Geoglossaceae and put all other genera
under “other Helotiales.”
Basidiomycota
The thalli may contain budding cells which are
formed successively by new inner layers which
burst through the outer layers. After meiosis, the
haploid cells are formed exogenously by budding
and are called basidiospores or sporidia. Endog-
enous spores (sporangiospores or ascospores) are
absent in Basidiomycota.
The structures on which haploid spores
resulting from meiosis are formed are termed
basidia and usually bear a constant number of
spores, 2 or 4, occasionally more. The basidia
are differentiated on dikaryotic hyphae usually
in or on fruiting bodies called basidiomata. The
basidia may also be formed on resting spores
called teliospores (see
Fig. 4
). Dikaryotic resting
spores may also germinate with a shorter or longer
tube, which is termed promycelium. The three
classes now distinguished are the Ustomycetes,
the Urediniomycetes and the Basidiomycetes.
The Ustomycetes propagate mainly by bud-
ding cells; septate hyphae may be present, but
are rare. After meiosis, resting spores form
short, often septate promycelia, which produce
budding cells laterally or terminally. Character-
istic basidia or basidiospores are absent.
The Urediniomycetes form basidia, which
after meiosis form uninucleate cells by transverse
septation. Each cell
Pezizales
Asci operculate, opening by a lid; hymenium
exposed before maturity of spores; apothecia
often brightly colored; most forms saprophytic.
Pezizaceae Apothecia cup-shaped or discoid;
sessile or stalked.
Helvellaceae Fruit bodies upright, columnar or
with a stalk and cap; sometimes edible.
forms a single, stalked
basidiospore.
Nearly all Uredinomycetes are obligate para-
sites of vascular plants and are known as rust fungi.
The Basidiomycetes form basidia, which usu-
ally remain aseptate after meiosis; the basidio-
spores are arranged in an apical whorl and are
sessile or stalked. The septa of the hypha have
characteristic central pores termed dolipores, with
thickened walls and caps. Dolipores are not present
in the Ustomycetes and the Urediniomycetes.
Tuberales
Ascocarp hypogeic, remaining closed; hyme-
nium covered with a pseudo-tissue or hymenium
lacking and asci filling cavities; mostly subterra-
nean; includes edible truffles.
Tuberaceae Interior waxy at maturity; asci per-
sistent. This family now placed in order
Pezizales. The order Tuberales has been
eliminated.
Elaphomycetaceae Interior powdery at matu-
rity; asci disappearing early, leaving interior
filled with spores. This family now placed in
order Pezizales. The order Tuberales has been
eliminated.
Ustomycetes
Ustomycetes include about 500 species belong-
ing to two orders; the plant parasitic Ustilaginales
(smut fungi), and the Sporidiales (red yeasts).
