The family Gomphidiaceae is small but easy to identify. Mushrooms in this group produce gray to black spores, have decurrent gills, and are shaped like tent pegs. All the fungi in the Gomphidiaceae are mycorrhizal and have some degree of a slimy cap. This is not surprising since their closest relatives are the slimy-capped boletes in the genus Suillus.
Coprinoid mushrooms are easy to recognize, at least in theory. Many coprinoid mushrooms have gills that liquefy (“deliquesce”) at maturity, which readily distinguishes them from normal agarics. These fungi produce purple-brown to black spores, so liquefied gills often end up looking like an inky mess. As a result, coprinoid mushrooms are often called “Inky Caps.” Coprinoid mushrooms with gills that do not deliquesce can be identified by their central stipes, dark spores, and relatively thin and fragile flesh.
Lactarius species are among the most easily-recognized mushrooms. Often called “Milk Caps” (the ‘lact-’ part of the genus name refers to ‘milk’), these distinctive mushrooms release a watery latex when injured. Lactarius mushrooms look a lot like russulas (FFF#175), which are very close relatives.
Russula is my favorite mushroom genus. This may be surprising to mushroom hunters because Russula mushrooms are generally ignored when foraging. However, I like them because they are very easy to identify and are genetically distinct from most other gilled mushrooms. Fungi in the genus Russula produce umbrella-like gilled mushrooms with crumbly flesh that do not exude liquid when injured.
Early on in mycology, most gilled mushrooms were placed in the genus Agaricus. Mycologists soon realized that gilled mushrooms were incredibly diverse and split the genus into numerous genera. Today, the mushrooms that remain in Agaricus are umbrella-like gilled mushrooms that have a chocolate-brown spore print, free gills, a partial veil, and a pileus that easily separates from the stipe.
The lepiotoid mushrooms are a genetically diverse group but are often lumped together in field guides to simplify identification. Morphologically, lepiotoid mushrooms most closely resemble mushrooms from the genus Amanita (FFF#172). Lepiotoid mushrooms have free gills, a white spore print, and a partial veil, but are saprobic and lack a universal veil. Despite these shared characteristics, lepiotoid mushrooms have multiple origins. “Lepiotoid” means “like Lepiota.” Most lepiotoid mushrooms were at one time placed in the genus Lepiota, so that genus is used as a basis for this morphological group.
For the next several weeks, I will examine the major groups of gilled mushrooms. I chose to start this foraging for mushrooms should learn to identify this group. In general, amanitas are umbrella-shaped agarics (FFF#027) that usually display all the following features: a universal veil, a partial veil, free gills, and a white spore print. Well-known amanitas include A. muscaria (FFF#069 and #121) as well as the Destroying Angels (FFF#050).
Fungi in the genus Pilobolus grow on the dung (they are “coprophilous”) of herbivores and are well-known for their unique spore dispersal mechanism. Using highly specialized spore-bearing hyphae, the fungus can launch globs of spores up to 3m (10ft) away! Its genus name literally means “Hat Thrower,” which is also used as a common name. Another common name is “Shotgun Fungus,” but that can also be applied to Sphaerobolus spp. (FFF#122), so I recommend against using that name.
These fungi are obligate plant pathogens with life cycles similar to the rust fungi. Thankfully, the smut fungi have much simpler life cycles: only one host and only two spore types. To make matters easier, smut fungi only infect flowering plants (angiosperms), with just five known exceptions out of the over 1,400 described species. Wondering about their common name? Although the word “smut” has come to mean “something obscene,” it originally meant “dirt” or “excrement.” Smut fungi produce copious amounts of powdery, black spores, which look like dirt en masse. “Smutted wheat,” therefore, is wheat that has had its seeds replaced by the dirt-like spores of a smut fungus.
Rust fungi – which are so named because of their characteristic, rust-colored spores – have the most complex life cycles of any fungi. These fungi are all obligate plant parasites and most have two hosts. To successfully cycle from one host to the other over the course of a year, rust fungi produce up to five different types of spores.
![#011: Characteristics of Kingdom Fungi [Archived]](https://www.fungusfactfriday.com/wp-content/themes/hueman/assets/front/img/thumb-small-empty.png)
