Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and infection. Mycology branches into the field of phytopathology, the study of plant diseases. The two disciplines are closely related, because the vast majority of plant pathogens are fungi. A biologist specializing in mycology is called a mycologist.
The Agaricaceae are a family of basidiomycete fungi and include the genus Agaricus, as well as basidiomycetes previously classified in the families Tulostomataceae, Lepiotaceae, and Lycoperdaceae.
Agaricus is a genus of mushroom-forming fungi containing both edible and poisonous species, with over 400 members worldwide and possibly again as many disputed or newly-discovered species. The genus includes the common ("button") mushroom and the field mushroom, the dominant cultivated mushrooms of the West.
Coprinellus is a genus of mushroom-forming fungi in the family Psathyrellaceae. The genus was circumscribed by the Finnish mycologist Petter Adolf Karsten in 1879. Most Coprinellus species were transferred from the once large genus Coprinus. Molecular studies published in 2001 redistributed Coprinus species to Psathyrella, or the segregate genera Coprinopsis and Coprinellus.
Parasola is a genus of coprinoid mushrooms in the family Psathyrellaceae. These small frail fungi have translucent caps where the radiating gills look like the spokes of a parasol. In the past these mushrooms were classified under Coprinus, but unlike that genus there is no veil and the caps do not really turn to ink, but curl up and wither.
Tylopilus is a genus of over 100 species of mycorrhizal bolete fungi separated from Boletus. Its best known member is the bitter bolete, the only species found in Europe. More species are found in North America, such as the edible species T. alboater. Australia is another continent where many species are found. All members of the genus form mycorrhizal relationships with trees. Members of the genus are distinguished by their pinkish pore surfaces.
Cuphophyllus is a genus of agaric fungi in the family Hygrophoraceae. Cuphophyllus species belong to a group known as waxcaps in English, sometimes also waxy caps in North America or waxgills in New Zealand. In Europe, Cuphophyllus species are typical of waxcap grasslands, a declining habitat due to changing agricultural practices. As a result, four species, Cuphophyllus atlanticus, C. colemannianus, C. lacmus, and C. lepidopus are of global conservation concern and are listed as "vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Crepidotus is a genus of fungi in the family Crepidotaceae. Species of Crepidotus all have small, convex to fan-shaped sessile caps and grow on wood or plant debris. The genus has been studied extensively, and monographs of the North American, European, and Neotropical species have been published.
Polyozellus is a fungal genus in the family Thelephoraceae, a grouping of mushrooms known collectively as the leathery earthfans. Previously considered a monotypic genus, it now contains the Polyozellus multiplex species complex. The genus name is derived from the Greek poly meaning many, and oz, meaning branch. It is commonly known as the blue chanterelle, the clustered blue chanterelle, or, in Alaska, the black chanterelle. The distinctive fruit body of this species comprises blue- to purple-colored clusters of vase- or spoon-shaped caps with veiny wrinkles on the undersurface that run down the length of the stem.
Ripartitella is a genus of fungi in the family Agaricaceae. The genus was circumscribed by Rolf Singer in Mycologia vol.39 on page 85 in 1947.
Tubaria is a genus of fungi in the family Tubariaceae. The genus is widely distributed, especially in temperate regions. Tubaria was originally named as a subgenus of Agaricus by Worthington George Smith in 1870. Claude Casimir Gillet promoted it to generic status in 1876. The mushrooms produced by species in this genus are small- to medium-sized with caps ranging in color from pale pinkish-brown to reddish-brown, and often with remnants of the partial veil adhering to the margin. Mushrooms fruit on rotting wood, or, less frequently, in the soil. There are no species in the genus that are recommended for consumption.
Agaricus hondensis, commonly known as the felt-ringed agaricus, is a species of fungus in the family Agaricaceae. The species was officially described in 1912 by mycologist William Alphonso Murrill, along with three other Agaricus species that have since been placed in synonymy with A. hondensis. Found in the Pacific Northwest region of North America, A. hondensis fruits in the fall under conifers or in mixed forests.
Xerocomellus is a genus of fungi in the family Boletaceae. The genus, as it was described in 2008, contained 12 species. However X. rubellus and X. engelii were transferred to the new genus Hortiboletus and X. armeniacus was transferred to the new genus Rheubarbariboletus in 2015. Molecular analysis supports the distinction of Xerocomellus species from Boletus and Xerocomus, within which these species were formerly contained. Xerocomellus in fact is only distantly related to Xerocomus and is most closely related to Tylopilus, Boletus sensu stricto, Porphyrellus, Strobilomyces, and Xanthoconium.
Psathyrella spadicea or Homophron spadiceum, commonly known as the chestnut brittlestem, is a species of agaric fungus in the family Psathyrellaceae. The fungus was originally described by German mycologist Jacob Christian Schäffer in 1783 as Agaricus spadiceus. Rolf Singer transferred it to the genus Psathyrella in 1951, in which it was classified in the section Spadiceae. In 2015 Örstadius & Larsson recreated the genus Homophron for a group of psathyrelloid mushrooms with no veil and with light-coloured spores, and P. spadicea was moved to the new genus.
Homophron is a genus of fungi belonging to the family Psathyrellaceae.
Cystoagaricus strobilomyces is a species of mushroom producing fungus in the family Psathyrellaceae and the type species of the Cystoagaricus genus
