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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').
Additionally, fungi typically grow in mixed colonies and sporulate amongst each other. These facts have made it very difficult to link the various states of the same fungus. Fungi that are not known to produce a teleomorph were historically placed into an artificial phylum, the "Deuteromycota," also known as "fungi imperfecti," simply for ...
A mold (US, PH) or mould (UK, CW) is one of the structures that certain fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of spores containing fungal secondary metabolites. The spores are the dispersal units of the fungi. [1] [2] Not all fungi form molds.
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.
Because bracket fungi are defined by their growth form rather than phylogeny, the group contains members of multiple clades. Although the term 'bracket fungi' classically was reserved for polypores, molecular studies have revealed some odd relationships. The beefsteak fungus, a well-known bracket fungus, is actually a member of the agarics.
A hypha (from Ancient Greek ὑφή (huphḗ) 'web'; pl.: hyphae) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. [1] In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium .
Other fungi rely on alternative mechanisms for spore release, such as external mechanical forces, exemplified by puffballs. Attracting insects, such as flies, to fruiting structures, by virtue of their having lively colours and a putrid odour, for dispersal of fungal spores is yet another strategy, most prominently used by the stinkhorns.
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 ...