Gilled Fungi
Photo: C & D Frith
Australia's Wet Tropics Rainforest Life
Gilled Fungi: Mycena sp. - This is a member of the Order Agaricales.
- Toadstools and mushrooms are also referred to as Agarics or gilled fungi.
- They are a very widespread and delicate group of fungi with a highly functional shape. The stalk holds the fruiting surface clear of the ground while the cap is for protection from direct wetting (this can destroy the spore-producing cells).
- They are usually found growing in clusters on logs or in leaf litter on the forest floor.
Agaric Mushrooms and Toadstools The fungi that produce what most people would call the classic 'mushrooms' and 'toadstools', with a stalk and cap, are found mainly in a group often referred to as the 'aragics'. Most of these have feathery soft gills on the underside of the cap (below). This group includes the regular common cultivated mushrooms that we eat. The range is of course enormous, for they can be tiny or huge, and any colour imaginable. One of the bioluminescent fungi in the wet tropics, Mycena chlorophanos, belongs to this group.
Script: Courtesy of Damon Ramsey BSc.(Zool) Biologist Guide
|
