Glossary

adherent

sticking to or holding fast

agaric

a mushroom with gills

agglutinated

combined into a group or mass

allantoid

sausage-shaped, botuliform, narrowly oblong, cylindrical with somewhat hemispherical terminations

alveolate

deeply pitted or honeycombed

amorphous

without shape

amyloid

turning blue, grey, or blue-black (purple) in an iodine solution (Melzer's reagent)

anastomose

fusing together of hyphae or gills; integrown

apex

top

apical

at or near the apex

apical pore

a germ pore

apiculate

furnished with an apiculus

apiculus

short projection on either end of a spore

Ascomycota

a class of fungi that produce asci or ascospores

Ascomycete

a fungus of the class Ascomycota that produces asci or ascospores

ascospore

a spore produced in an ascus

ascus

a sac-like cell in which ascospores are formed

basal protuberance

a protuberance of sterile tissue attached to the base of the object

Basidiomycota

a class of fungi that produce basidia and basidiospores

Basidiomycete

a member of the class of Basidiomycota that produces basidia or basidiospores

basidia

plural of basidium

basidium

a cell, usually club-shaped, on which spores of Basidiomycetes are formed

caespitose

tight or clustered

capitate

having a well-formed head

carbonous

resembling carbon

carpophore

usually the entire fruiting body but also refers to the stalk of the fruiting body

cedrebriform

shaped like a brain; convoluted

citriform

lemon-shaped

clamp connection

a small bump, loop or swollen area formed at the cross-wall between hyphae in the process of cell division

class

a group of related orders

clavate

club-shaped; thickened noticeably toward the spore-bearing end

columella

sterile tissue that penetrates the gleba; an internal stalk

conical

shaped like a cone

convex

curving or bulging outward

convoluted

wrinkled like a brain

coprophilous

grows on dung

cupulate

cup-like in form

cylindrical

shaped like a cylinder; circular and uniform in diameter for the entire length

dacrymoid

shaped like a tear

dextrinoid

turning brown or red-brown in iodine (Melzer's reagent)

ectomycorrhizal

a form of mycorrhiza in which the fungus does not penetrate through the host cell wall

ellipsoid

oblong and rounded at both ends

elliptical

rounded at both ends with sides curved slightly

endomycorrhizal

a form of mycorrhiza in which the fungus does penetrate through the host cell wall, but not the host cell membrane

epigeous

fruiting body produced on or above the ground surface

epiphytic

living on the surface of plants but not as a parasite

epispore

the thick fundamental layer which determines the shape of the spore

evanescent

tending to vanish

false-truffle

a hypogeous fruiting body of the Basidiomycete class

family

a group of related genera

farinaceous

having the odor or taste of freshly ground corn meal

fibril

fine fiber or hair

fibrillose

furnished with fine fibers or hairs

fibrous

composed of tough, stringy tissue

flexous

bending or winding alternately from side to side

floccose

cottony or wooly; dry and loosely arranged

friable

easily crumbled

fruiting body

the reproductive structure of a fungus

fusiform

spindle-shaped

gelatinous

jelly-like in appearance or consistency

genus

a group of closely related species

germ pore

a soft spot in the wall of certain spores, through which initial germination takes place

gills

the lamella; the spore-producing blades on the underside of the cap

glabrous

smooth, not hairy

gleba

the spore-bearing tissue, usually at least partially enclosed by sterile tissue

globose

spherical

glutinous

sticky; gummy

granulose

finely roughened as if by fine sand

gregarious

growing close together, but not in clusters

homogeneous

the same throughout; not differentiated

hyaline

transparent, or nearly so; colorless

hymenium

the spore-bearing palisade layer

hypha(e)

a filament of mycelium; a threadlike fungal cell

hypogeous

fruiting body produced below ground surface

inamyloid

not having a blue, grey, or purple reaction to Melzer's reagent (iodine solution)

knobby

covered with small rounded lumps or bumps

KOH

potassium hydroxide solution (usually 3-10%)

labyrinthine

resembling a labyrinth; very convoluted and intricate

lamellae

the gills

latex

a milky substance, sometimes hyaline or brightly colored

locule

a cavity or chamber

macroscopic

easy to see without a microscope

mantle

an outer covering

matrix

the surrounding substance within which something originates, develops, or is contained

Melzer's reagent

an iodine test solution

membranous

membrane-like; skin-like

meristem

montane

of, growing in, or inhabiting mountain areas

morphology

shape

mucilage

a gelatinous substance

mucilaginous

sticky; viscid

mycelium

a mass or group of hyphae; the vegetative portion of a fungus

mycophagy

literally "fungus-eater"; feeding on fungi

mycorrhiza(e)

the mutually beneficial symbiotic association of fungus and plant host

nodulose

covered with small bumps or nodules

North Temperate

the zone lying between 23.5 and 66.5 degrees north latitude

oblong

longer than wide, elongated with the sides approximately parallel

obovoid

oval or egg-shaped with the point of attachment at the narrower end

obtuse

blunt; not pointed

oval

egg shaped

ovoid

shaped like an egg with the point of attachment at the broader end

palisade

a layer of columnar cells

pallid

very pale; an indefinite whitish color

papillate

having a rounded process

paraphyses

a sterile, upward-growing, basally attached hyphal element in a hymenium

percurrent

extending through the spore mass to the top of the fruiting body

peridioles

a division of the gleba having a separate wall

peridium

a wall; the outer covering of a sporocarp composed of sterile tissue

perithecia

a closed Ascomycete fruiting body that opens by a terminal slit or pore

pileus

upper portion or cap of a fungus

pore

a minute opening or mouth of a tube

primordia

undifferentiated tissue that ultimately produces the fruit body

pseudohypogeous

partially belowground

pubescent

has a fuzzy feel from fine, soft hairs

pulvinate

shaped like a cushion

punctate

having tiny spots, points, or depressions

pyriform

pear-shaped

quadrangular

having four sides in any view (rhomboid)

reniform

kidney-shaped

reticulate

marked with lines crossed like the meshes of a net; netted

reticulum

a net-like pattern or structure

rhizomorph

a root-like aggregation of hyphae with a well-defined apical meristem

saprotrophic

using dead organic material as food

scabrous

a roughened surface

scaly-tomentose

covered with scales and soft hairs

senescent

growing old; aging

sinuous

of a serpentine or wavy form

sphaerocyst

an enlarged, more or less globose cell

sporangia

plural of sporangium

sporangium

an organ producing asexual spores

spore

an unicellular reproductive structure

spore print

the deposit obtained by allowing spores from a sporocarp to fall onto a sheet of paper or microscope slide placed below the lamellae or pore

sporocarp

a fruiting body that bears spores

sporulate

to undergo the formation of spores

sterigma

prong on the basidium on which a spore forms (sterigmal attachment)

sterigmal attachment

the extension of the basidium on which a spore forms

sterile

not sexual; vegetative

stipe

the stalk of a fruiting body that supports the spore-bearing portion

striate

marked by lines; finely furrowed

subcylindrical

nearly cylindrical

subfusiform

more or less fusiform and with a somewhat rounded point at one end

subglobose

nearly spherical

substrate

the material to which a fruiting body is attached

synoptic

affording a general view of a whole

taxa

a taxonomic group of any rank

taxon

singular of taxa

temperate

neither hot nor cold in climate; mild

thallus

a vegetative body of a fungus

tomentose

covered with densely matted hairs

trama

the fungal tissue composing the pileus or bearing the hymenium

tramal plate

the interior sterile tissue separating two hymenial layers

truffle

a hypogeous Ascomycete fruiting body

truncate

appearing chopped off or flattened at one end; ending abruptly as if cut off

truncation

a flattened, abruptly ending end

turbinate

shaped like a top

urnulate

shaped like an urn

veil

a thin, veil-like membrane that stretches from the cap to the stem, covering the gills

ventricose

swelling out at the middle or on one side

verrucose

having very small rounded warts

versiform

varying in shape; altering in shape as it matures

vesicular-arbuscular

a form of endomycorrhiza that has structures called vesicles and arbuscles

vestigial

persisting as a rudimentary or degenerate structure

vinaceous

of the color of wine; pale pinkish-brown to pale grayish-purple

viscid

thick and sticky

xeric

related to an extremely dry habitat