Fungal Word Friday: Macronematous

Macronematous refers to conidiophore that are noticeably morphologically different from the vegetative hypha they arise from.

Macronematous conidiophores of Ramichloridium indicum

Photo cred: http://openi.nlm.nih.gov/detailedresult.php?img=2104745_57fig15&req=4

Fungal Word Friday: Annulus

One feature that is helpful in identification of many mushrooms is the presence of an Annulus. And what is an annulus? Here you go:

Amanita muscaria with distinct annulus

Well, as you see in this picture, it is simply a ring around the stipe of a mushroom. A remnant of the mushroom's partial veil.


Photo Cred: By JJ Harrison (jjharrison89@facebook.com) (Own work) [GFDL 1.2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Fungal Word Friday: Mycetism

Simply put, mycetism is mushroom poisoning.

Responsible for countless illnesses and even deaths across the world every year, the most common cause of mushroom poisoning is plain old mistaken identification. While nearly a hundred species of mushroom have been determined to have some levels of toxicity, the most common deadly mycetisms are attributed to Amanita phalloides. Which when mature can be mistaken for some common edibles, and while still developing can be mistaken for a puffball.

Death Cap, Amanita phalloides, across its development.

There are a long list of mycotoxins responsible for these poisonings and their symptoms run the gamut from death in a few days from liver failure, to respiratory failure, kidney failure, blood cell distruction, limb loss (that's right eating some mushrooms could potentially cost you an arm and a leg.. and your life.), to more mild gastrointestinal problems. Technically the sought after hallucinations and arousal effects attributed to "magic mushrooms" in the Psilocybe genus are symptoms of mycetism.
For a more in depth look at the mushrooms responsible for mycetism, head over to the List of Deadly Mushrooms entry page on Wikipedia.


Photo Creds:
Wikicommons- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Death_Cap_Mushroom.jpg

This image was created by user Justin Pierce (JPierce) at Mushroom Observer, a source for mycological images. You can contact this user here. [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

First Monday Mushroom: Lion's Mane Mushroom

I thought that with last week's Fungal Word Friday being Teeth that it is only fitting to follow up with this month's First Monday Mushroom being one of the most exemplifying mushrooms for that term. So today I bring you Hericium erinaceus, the Lion's Mane Mushroom.

Hericium erinaceus on an old oak tree in Shave Wood

This mushroom is can be identified by its long teeth extending from a single (non branching) fruiting body, only easily mistaken as other members of the Hericium genus. It is a choice edible that can be found growing on hardwoods during the late summer, and is even cultivated and sold in stores.
Being found across North America, Europe, and Asia this mushroom has many common names from Lion's Mane, to Monkey's Head, to Deertail, to PomPom. In the end it is valued as food and even in some traditional medicine practices.

Scientific Classification

Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Subdivision:	Agaricomycotina
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Russulales
Family:	Hericiaceae
Genus:	Hericium
Species:	H. erinaceus

Photo Cred: Jim Champion [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons