Fun Guide To Fungi

written by Peter Roberts & Shelly Evans designed by Katherine Galloway

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FORE WORD

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INTRODUCTION

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WHAT ARE FUNGI?

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PESTS & PARASITES

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FOOD, FOLKLORE, & MEDICINE

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COLLECTING & IDENTIFYING

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GUIDE TO THE FUNGI

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FIELD NOTES

FOREWORD THE BOOK OF FUNGI

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Colorful, bizarre, mysterious — fungi have evolved an extraordinary range of weird and wonderful shapes and forms in ever y par t of the globe.

Everyone knows that some fungi are edible and that mushrooms are cultivated for food. But did you know that most trees and flowering plants also depend on fungal partners for their nutrition? Or that all the wood in the world is rotted down and recycled by fungi—helping to create the fertile soils that plants need to grow? Or that many of the pharmaceuticals we depend upon today were originally derived from fungi?

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Every species featured in this book has its own particular lifestyle and this lifestyle often dictates its form. There are fungi described that look like miniature bird’s nests and use raindrops to catapult their spores into the air, fungi that grow on their neighbors and sprout fruitbodies out of their caps, and fungi from arid deserts that are tough enough to withstand sun and sand.

Edible fungi are featured, including some of the less familiar species that are now finding their way onto supermarket shelves.

Poisonous fungi are also here, as well as several that are hallucinogenic, and others that have been found to possess potentially useful properties—particularly in the search for new and better pharmaceuticals.

More than 75,000 species of fungi have been described worldwide and the numbers keep growing, year by year. Even if the microscopic species are discounted, that still leaves far too many species to include in any single volume.

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INTRODUCTION

THE BOOK OF FUNGI

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Modern Systematics, based on THE BOOK OF FUNGI

the analysis of DNA sequences, divides the kingdom Fungi into at least seven different groups or phyla. Although they are all of interest, most are microscopic and beyond the scope of this book. All the selected species, therefore, belong either to the Ascomycota or to the Basidiomycota—the two fungal phyla that produce large, visible fruitbodies.

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ASCOMYCOTA Ascomycota contain at least 40,000 different species worldTHE BOOK OF FUNGI

wide, many of them rather inconspicuous, but including such familiar groups as the morels and truffles, the cup fungi, and most of the lichens, as well as many microscopic molds and yeasts. They all produce their spores within microscopic cells called asci, which typically open under pressure w h en mature, shooting the spores out into the air currents.

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Basidiomycota contain at least 30,000 dif ferent species worldwide and includes many of our most familiar fungi, including all the agarics (mushrooms and toadstools), puffballs and stinkhorns, bracket fungi, chanterelles, club and coral fungi, as well as the plant-parasitic rusts and smuts. All of

THE BOOK OF FUNGI

BASIDIOMYCOTA

them produce their spores on the external surface of microscopic cells called basidia and their fruitbodies have evolved in many ingenious ways in order to liberate these spores.

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WHAT ARE FUNGI? THE BOOK OF FUNGI

I 12

A hundred years or more ago, fungi were thought of as lower plants or cryptogams, on a par with mosses and liverworts.

They did not produce flowers and their seeds were very small, but they were still plants of a sort. However, it gradually became

not made of cellulose, like plants, but of chitin (a substance more associated with insects). They did not contain chlorophyll and could not use sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into sugars. As a result, in the 1960s, they were placed in

THE BOOK OF FUNGI

clear that fungi had little or nothing to do with plants. They were

their own grouping — The Kingdom Fungi. Curiously, modern DNA research puts the fungi even further from plants.

Fungi are part of the opisthokonts—a group that also includes the animals. It seems animals and fungi once had a common ancestor, some time after plants went their separate way.

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HOW DO THE Y W ORK?

While animals & plants are made up of cells, fungi are made up of microscopically thin, tubelike hyphane.

When they clump together, these hyphae can often be seen THE BOOK OF FUNGI

as cobwebby threads in damp leaf litter, in compost, or even on the surface of moldy food.

Fungi “eat ” by Absorbing food through their hyphal walls, mostly in the form of simple sugars and amino acids. If these are not immediately available, they can extract them from more complex substances by secreting enzymes. Animals, including ourselves, use similar enzymes in the stomach to digest food.

Fungi do the same—only their digestive system is external.

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"the real fungus is beneath the soil"

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FINDING YOUR WAY AROUND A MUSHROOM

When we look at a fungus, we are generally looking at a sporocarp ­— the spore-producing fruitbody that may be called a mushroom, a toadstool, a puffball, and so on.

The real fungus, the cobwebby mycelium made up of hyphae, is generally beneath the soil, or spreading through the leaf litter, or running through a fallen log. It is rather as if oak

periodically forming on the surface. It takes several weeks to develop on the mycelium, but once developed it expands quite rapidly from the but ton stage to maturit y. It is this expansion that gave rise to the old idea of mushrooms and toadstools “growing” overnight.

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trees grew hidden underground and all we saw were acorns

The fruitbody has a distinct stem that lifts the cap and gills off the soil surface, the better to release spores into the air.

The spores themselves are microscopic and are formed in their millions on the gills, which are covered by the cap. A second, universal veil encloses the whole fruitbody when young, the remains of which are left as detachable patches on the cap and as a sack-like volva at the stem base. Other fruitbodies (of bracket fungi, stinkhorns, or morels) vary enormously in shape and in their methods of spore liberation, but the basic spore-bearing principle is the same.

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produce spores

cap gills

leftover from the develope-

ring

the top part of a mushroom

THE BOOK OF FUNGI

ment of the mushroom

the stem or stalk-like

stipe

feature supporting the cap

present on some mushrooms and useful in identif ication (must be carefully dug out)

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volva

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PESTS & PARASITES

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II 20

relationship and a parasitic one—but a few fungi certainly cr o s s th at lin e a n d a r e un denia ble pa r a sit e s on pla nt s, on animals, and even on other fungi. The same is true for pestS. A fungus that rots down fallen trees in forests may be a useful species. But if it does the same thing to timber in

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There is sometimes a fine line between a mutually beneficial

the home, it is a pest.

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HONEY FUNGUS THE GARDENER 'S BANE T h e Hon ey Fung us (armillaria mellea) is a wo o d-r ot ting species that has evolved a particularly ef ficient means of colonizing new resources, producing tough rhizomorphs that can spread underground. When there is plenty of dead wood around, it is harmless. But when there is not, it will attack living trees and shrubs. In a garden, the Honey Fungus can run riot—and little can be done to stop it.

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TIMBER EATERS Household timber is generally too dry for fungi. But if the moisture content rises above 20 percent, some species can get to work. Dry Rot (coniophora puteana) is one that tolerates drier conditions than most. The waf fle-like fruitbodies can also produce spores in such vast quantities that they can be a health problem in themselves. If the moisture content rises above 40 percent, then Wet Rot (serpula lacrymans) and other species can join in the destruction.

" The Honey Fungus can run riot and little can be done to stop it"

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CATERPILLAR FUNGI Cordyceps species attack a wide range of insects, from butterflies to beetles, wasps, and even ants. One of the best-known is the Chinese Caterpillar Fungus (ophiocordyceps sinensis) which infects moth larvae. When the caterpillar goes underground to pupate, the fungus grows in the insect, eventually producing its own fruitbody above the ground. Traditional Chinese medicine regards this oddity (called “winter worm, summer grass”) as highly desirable, so that now collecting fruitbodies (with mum-

FUNGI THAT PARASITIZE E ACH OTHER It should be no surprise to discover that some fungi parasitize

THE BOOK OF FUNGI

mified caterpillar attached) is a profitable business.

their fellow fungi, often in rather peculiar ways. Among the oddest are agarics in the genus Squamanita. These species parasitize the fruitbodies of other agarics, typically producing their own cap and gills on top of the host’s stem.

The Lobster Fung us (hypomyces lactifluorum) is another strange-looking object. It is a fungus that engulfs agarics, keeping their shape but coating them in a crust of its own miniature fruitbodies. Even stranger is the fact that these parasitized fruitbodies are considered edible and good.

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FOOD, FOLKLORE & MEDICINE

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III 26

Cultural peculiarities, however, have led to some nations and communities being mycophiles, lovers of fungi, while others are mycophobic, with a deep distrust of the whole poisonous kingdom. Not surprisingly, this often colors folk beliefs and

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Human beings are omnivores, and fungi have undoubtedly formed part of our diet since we first evolved.

associations. The use of fungi in traditional medicine follows a similar pattern, but modern scientific medicine has been keen to explore their potential, with the result that many of today’s most successful pharmaceuticals are fungus-derived.

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1.5 MILLION TONS OF MUSHROOMS Around one and a half million tons of Cultivated Mushrooms (a garicus bisporus) a r e pr o duc e d world w ide e ach ye a r.

Their cultivation can be traced back to seventeenth-century France, where a substantial industry gradually developed based in cavernous, disused mines around Paris. Even today Cultivated Mushrooms in France are known as champignons de Paris. Modern commercial production was developed in the United States and mechanized in the Netherlands.

Perhaps surprisingly, Agaricus bisporus only accounts for THE BOOK OF FUNGI

some 40 percent of world cultivation. Other species, including the Shiitake (lentinula edodes), the Oyster Mushroom (pleurotus ostreatus), and the Wood Ear (auricularia cornea), together make up the rest, with production and consumption predominantly in eastern Asia, though many of these species are becoming more popular in the west.

"Mushroom cultivation can be traced back to seventeenth-centur y France"

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THE CALL OF THE W ILD Many edible fungi are still collected in the wild, not just by m u s h r o o m enthusia s t s b u t on a c omm er cia l s c a le. T h e reason is that ectomycorrhizal species—those that form an intimate association with trees—cannot be cultivated away from their hosts. The Cep or Porcini (boletus edulis) and the Chanterelle (cantharellus cibarius) are among the most sought-af ter species, but in Japan a fascination with the Matsutake (tricholoma matsutake)—often presented as ex-

TRUFFLES THE ULTIMATE PRIZE

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pensive gifts—has led to a huge and lucrative import trade.

Tr u f f le s (tub er sp e cie s) a r e un der g r oun d f r uitb o die s of ectomycorrhizal fungi whose spores are spread by animals attracted by pheromones and other tempting aromas. Some of these tempt humans as well, and species such as Tuber magnatum have long been rare and costly items for European gourmets. In recent years, truffles have been semi-cultivated with var ying success in truf f ières—plantations of trees inoculated with mycelium—but they still remain one of the ultimate luxury foods.

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MAGIC MUSHROOMS AND W ITCHE S’ BUT TER In mycophilic countries, fungi of ten played a positive role in folk tales, some hallucinogenic species—such as the Fly Ag a ric (amanita muscaria)—achiev ing an almost s acr e d status among shamans seeking contact with the spirit world.

In mycophobic countries, they were regarded with suspicion.

The Witches’ Butter (exidia glandulosa) was one of several fungi whose mysterious appearance could only be explained by witchcraft, while circles of the Fairy Ring Champignon (marasmius oreades) marked the dangerous enclaves of the Little People.

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THE FUNGAL PHARMACY Fungi have long played a part in traditional medicine—especially in eastern Asia, where species such as the Lacquered Bracket (ganoderma lucidum) are still highly valued today. In modern western medicine, antibiotics such as penicillin (derived from the mold Penicillium chrysogenum), cholesterol-lowering statins (derived from species such as Aspergillus terreus), and immunosuppressive cyclosporins (derived from Tolypocladium inflatum) are among many clinically proven pharmaceuticals with a fungal origin.

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COLLECTING & IDENTIFYING FUNGI

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IV 32

shortcut. You will need to examine a lot of specimens and take the time to become familiar with their typical haunts and habits, their many variations (when young or old, when wet or dry), and their distinguishing features compared to other species.

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For anyone interested in identifying larger fungi there is no

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GET TING TO KNOW YOUR LOCAL FUNGI As with birdwatching or botanizing, gaining a familiarity with your local fungi can be a real pleasure. For larger fungi, a good local or regional field guide is essential, though for some parts of the world such guides are sadly lacking. A few species may be sufficiently distinctive to be instantly recognizable, but most require the patient use of an identification key — carefully reading descriptions, not just matching the specimen THE BOOK OF FUNGI

to a similar-looking photograph. Experience is essential, and joining a local fungus group or club is an excellent way of getting to see a lot of different species and share expertise.

"Never cut the stem or a deadly Amanita species may start to look like an edible mushroom"

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FIRST STEPS IN IDENTIF Y ING FUNGI With agarics, take care to collect the whole fruitbody. Never cut the stem or a deadly Amanita species may lose its volva and start to look like an edible mushroom. Use a flat basket or sectioned container to avoid jumbling specimens. Make notes in the field on habitat and associations. Note colors in daylight and check color changes when fruitbodies are bruised or cut.

with tiny features. For many fungi, especially agarics, a spore print is often helpful. Take a mature cap and place it with the spore-bearing surface (the gills or pores) facing downward on a piece of glass. Cover the fruitbody with an inverted tumbler, to prevent it drying out, and leave for a few hours or over-

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Record any smells before they disappear. A hand lens may help

night. The spore color should then be apparent—as long as the fungus is shedding spores.

You should now be armed with all the information you need to key a fungus out using macroscopic characters. You may not get to a species this way but you should be able to narrow your find to a genus or a group.

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GUIDE TO THE FUNGI THE BOOK OF FUNGI

V 36

key, but may help you to identify some of the more common and widespread species—or at least discover to which group they may belong. Less than one percent of known fungal species are featured in this volume, so be aware that the particular fungus that you are looking for may not be here.

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This guide to the different kinds of fungi in this book is not a

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agarics Fleshy fruitbodies; cap with or without stem; gills underneath cap (rarely pores) Species with gilled fruitbodies are in this section, but note that some chanterelles have g ill-like ridge s or veins a n d s om e br acke t f ung i h ave tough or woody, gill-like undersur faces.

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WHITE TO PALE-SPORED, CENTRAL STEM, RINGLESS, LARGE

cap typically more than 2 in across, stem w/o distinct ring

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RUS T Y TO B ROW N-S P O RED,

CHOCOLATE-BROWN TO

S T EML ES S O R S ID E S T EMMED

BLACK-SPORED, CENTRAL STEM

WHITE TO PALE-SPORED,

STEMLESS OR SIDE-STEMMED

CENTRAL STEM, RINGED

mostly on wood

stem with distinct ring

WHITE TO PALE-SPORED,

GREEN-SPORED,

CENTRAL STEM, RINGLESS, SMALL

CENTRAL STEM SIDE-STEMMED

cap up to 2 in across,

mostly on wood

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W HI T E TO PAL E-S P O RED,

stem without distinct ring

RUS T Y TO B ROW N-S P O RED,

PINK TO RED DIS H-S P O RED,

CEN T R AL S T EM

CEN T R AL S T EM 39

boletes Fleshy fruitbodies; cap with stem; spongelike pores underneath cap. Some bracket fungi also have central stems with pores below the cap. A few, mainly tropical agaricsalso have pores.

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bird's nest fungi

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Cuplike or starlike fruitbodies with “eggs” inside

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bracket fungi Hard to fleshy fruitbodies; mostly bracket or shelf-like with p or e s (rarely teeth) Ty pic a ll y on wo o d or at th e ba s e of trunks. Some are perennial and hard, others annual and soft.

Most have caps, but some are effused and crustlike. A few have caps with central stems and may look a little like boletes.

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CAP, HARD, WOODY, OR LEATHERY, NO CENTRAL STEM

CAP HARD, WOODY, OR LEATHERY, CENTRAL STEM

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CAP, SOFT, FLESHY, OR PLIABLE,

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NO CENTRAL STEM

CAP, SOFT, FLESHY, OR PLIABLE, CENTRAL STEM

NO CAP OR STEM, PATCH-LIKE

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crust fungi Variously shaped fruit-bodies; surface smooth, veined, or toothed Most form crusts on wood. Some are bracket-like, but smooth underneath. A few are fan- to goblet-shaped, or form rosettes. Frond-like lichens may look similar.

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NO CAP, CRUST- OR PATCH-LIKE

CAP, BRACKET, OR SHELF-LIKE

CAP, FAN- OR ROSETTE-LIKE

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jelly fungi Gelatinous or rubbery fruitbodies of various shapes Several cup fungi are equally gelatinous. Species with branched fruitbodies resemble the club and coral fungi

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tooth & spine fungi Fruitbodies with spines or teeth, instead of pores or gills Fruitbodies on the ground have stem and cap with spines underneath.

Fruitbodies on wood may resemble swarms or clusters of pendant

O N G RO U ND

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spines or are bracket-like with spines instead of pores.

O N WO O D O R C O NES

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chanterelles Fruitbodies of ten f unnel- or trumpet-shaped, with smooth or veined undersur face

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clubs & corals Fruitbodies like clubs or elongated spindles, branched

B R AN CHED

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or unbranched Several jelly fungi

U NB R AN CHED

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puffballs, earthballs, & earthstars Ball-like fruitbodies; with or without a stem or starlike base Some puf fball-like species with stems may look like old but unopened agarics. Some without stems resemble truffles.

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N O S T EM, S TARLIK E AR MS

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S T EM

NO STEM, NO STARLIKE ARMS

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lichens Shrubby, branched, hair-like, or crust-forming fungi; may be on rocks; often gray, greenish, or yellowish Lichen “fruitbodies” are actually thalli—a mixture of fungal hyphae and the cells of their associated algae or cyanobacteria. Some have small, disc-like fruitbodies arising from the thalli.

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LO B ED O R F RO ND LIK E

flattened lobes or fronds, but not bracket-like

S HRU B BY O R HAIRLIK E

finely branched or hanging in strands 52

stinkhorns Fr uitb o die s emerging from an “eg g;” spore mass slimy, foul-smelling Remains of the egglike receptacle persist at the base of the stem. Battarrea has a similar basal “egg,”

T U B U L AR

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but its spore mass is powdery and dry.

FO R MIN G AR MS O R CAG E

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cup fungi Fruitbodies disc- or cup-shaped, sometimes with a stem Fruitbodies often become distorted with age or when growing close together. Some lichens and false morels also produce disc- or goblet-shaped fruitbodies, as do a few unrelated fungi and several of the crust fungi. Drumstick-shaped fruitbodies are also found in the flask fungi and the puffballs.

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CU P-S HAPED

no stem

GOBLET-SHAPED

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DISC-SHAPED,

GOLFBALL-SHAPED

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WITH OR WITHOUT STEM

in clusters on trees of southern beach

CLUB OR DRUMSTICK-SHAPED

swollen or ball-like head, long stem 55

morels Lobed or honeycomb-like head with stem

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truffles Ball- or potato-shaped fruitbodies, wholly or par tly under litter or soil False truf fles, such as Rhizopogon and Steph-

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anospora look very similar.

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flask fungi Variously shaped fruitbodies; often hard; often with a pimply surface Many of the “fruitbodies” of the flask fungi are actually sterile “stroma” in which the true fruitbodies are immersed, looking like pimples or dots under a magnifying lens. Several species look similar to the club and coral fungi.

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D RUMS T ICK-LIK E O R DIS C-S HAPED

ball- or disc-shaped head and stem

CLU B- O R C O R AL-S HAPED

branched or unbranched 58

parasitizing agarics

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Wholly or partly covering fruitbodies in a pimply crust

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