A - Mycology Terms
Abort
When a fruiting body's growth is stunted.
Acrid
[ ak-rid ]
a sharp or stinging taste or smell.
Acute
[ uh-kyoot ]
Pointed; Sharp.
Adnate
[ 'ad-neit ]
Lamellae (gills) that are broadly attached to the stipe (stem); Also referred to as widely or bluntly attached.
All types of mushroom gill attachments.
Adnexed
[ ad-'nekst ]
Lamellae (gills) that are narrowly attached to the stipe (stem).
All types of mushroom gill attachments.
Agaric
[ uh-gar-ik ]
Fungi belonging to the family Agaricaceae.
Agaricaceae
[ uh-gar-i-'ka-see-ee ]
A fungal family in the Basidiomycota division.
Best known for Agaric mushrooms.
Agaricales
[ uh-gar-i-kal-eez ]
A fungal order in the Basidiomycota division that contains gilled mushrooms.
Amatoxin
[ 'a-ma-tox-in ]
A toxin produced by poisonous mushrooms. Often fatal.
Found in the genera Amanita, Galerina and Lepiota.
Ampullaceous
[ am-puh-ley-shuh s ]
Flask or Bottle-shaped
Annular
[ an-yuh-ler ]
A ring-shape.
Annulate
[ an-yuh-lit ]
containing an annulus (ring).
Annulus
[ an-yuh-luh s ]
A ring of tissue attached to the strip (stem) of a mushroom which is the remains of the partial veil.
Antheridium
[ an-thuh-'rid-ee-uhm ]
a male reproductive structure.
Apical
[ ey-pi-kuh l ]
A ring near the top of the stipe (stem).
Referring to the position of the annulus (ring).
Apiculus
[ uh-pik-yuh-luh s ]
plural apiculi
Apothecium
[ ap-o-'thee-shi-um ]
A cup-shaped or saucer-shaped fruiting body where the hymenium is constantly exposed.
Found in the Ascomycota division of fungi.
Appendiculate
[ ap-uh n-dik-yuh-lit ]
when there are remains of a veil hanging from edges of the pileus (cap).
All types of mushroom cap margins.
Appressed
[ uh-prest ]
Flattened or pressed closely against a surface. Often referring to the pileus (cap) or stipe (stem).
Areolate
[ uh-ree-uh-leyt ]
A cracked surface resembling dried-mud or paint.
All types of mushroom cap surfaces.
Ascending
[ uh-sen-ding ]
Upwards. Typically referring to the gills that form upwards from the cap margin to the attachment at the stipe (stem).
Ascocarp
[ as-kuh-kahrp ]
The fruiting body of sac-fungi (Ascomycota division).
Plural Ascomata
Ascogonium
[ as-co-'go-ni-um ]
a female reproductive structure.
Ascomycetes
[ as-ko-'my-se-teez ]
Any fungi belonging to the Ascomycota division.
Ascomycota
[ as-ko-my-'ko-ta ]
a division of fungi with over 64,000 species. Also called sac fungi.
For more detailed information, see Ascomycota.
Ascospore
[ 'as-ko-spore ]
A sexual spore developed from meiosis in an ascus.
Ascus
[ as-kuh s ]
A tubular saclike cell that produces Ascospores. Found in Ascomycetes
plural Asci
Aseptate Hyphae
[ ey-sep-teyt hahy-fee ]
Hyphae lacking septa to separates the cell walls. Instead, internal cell components, such as multiple nuclei, flow freely.
Autodigestion
[ aw-toh-dih-jes-chuh ]
self-digestion. A common occurrence in ink cap mushrooms.
Alternative term: Deliquescence.
