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The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to fungi and mycology: . Fungi – "Fungi" is plural for "fungus". A fungus is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes unicellular microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as multicellular fungi that produce familiar fruiting forms known as mushrooms.
The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cycle , [ 1 ] while the rest of the life cycle is characterized by vegetative mycelial growth and asexual ...
Mycelium (pl.: mycelia) [a] is a root-like structure of a fungus consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. [1] Its normal form is that of branched, slender, entangled, anastomosing, hyaline threads. [2] Fungal colonies composed of mycelium are found in and on soil and many other substrates.
Its members are commonly known as the sac fungi or ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species . [ 3 ] The defining feature of this fungal group is the " ascus " (from Ancient Greek ἀσκός ( askós ) 'sac, wineskin'), a microscopic sexual structure in which nonmotile spores , called ascospores , are formed.
The English word fungus is directly adopted from the Latin fungus (mushroom), used in the writings of Horace and Pliny. [10] This in turn is derived from the Greek word sphongos (σφόγγος 'sponge'), which refers to the macroscopic structures and morphology of mushrooms and molds; [11] the root is also used in other languages, such as the German Schwamm ('sponge') and Schimmel ('mold').
A phylum of fungi characterized by the presence of an ascus, a sac-like structure where ascospores are produced. The largest group of fungi. The largest group of fungi. Includes cup fungi or Discomycetes ; most dermatophyte s; the mycobiont part of most lichens; powdery mildews ; and fungi that produce truffle s.
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The mycorrhizal symbiosis between plants and fungi is fundamental to terrestrial ecosystems, with evolutionary origins before the colonization of land by plants. [17] In the mycorrhizal symbiosis, a plant and a fungus become physically linked to one another and establish an exchange of resources between one another.