The Bolbitiaceae are a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the n ...

-forming

basidiomycete Basidiomycota () is one of two large divisions that, together with the Ascomycota, constitute the subkingdom Dikarya (often referred to as the "higher fungi") within the kingdom Fungi. Members are known as basidiomycetes. More specifically, Basid ...

fungi. A 2008 estimate placed 17

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

and 287 species in the family. Bolbitiaceae was

circumscribed In geometry, a circumscribed circle for a set of points is a circle passing through each of them. Such a circle is said to ''circumscribe'' the points or a polygon formed from them; such a polygon is said to be ''inscribed'' in the circle. * Circum ...

by mycologist

Rolf Singer Rolf Singer (June 23, 1906 – January 18, 1994) was a German mycologist and Taxonomy (biology), taxonomist of gilled mushrooms (agarics). He wrote the book "The Agaricales in Modern Taxonomy (biology), Taxonomy". He fled to various countries d ...

in 1948.

Description

This family is of

-forming species that have a

hymenium The hymenium is the tissue layer on the hymenophore of a fungal fruiting body where the cells develop into basidia or asci, which produce spores. In some species all of the cells of the hymenium develop into basidia or asci, while in oth ...

gills A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

, brown

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual reproduction, sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for biological dispersal, dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores fo ...

s and a hymenoderm

pileipellis The pileipellis is the uppermost layer of hyphae in the pileus of a fungal fruit body. It covers the trama, the fleshy tissue of the fruit body. The pileipellis is more or less synonymous with the cuticle, but the cuticle generally describes ...

Differences in genera

Bolbitius ''Bolbitius'' is a genus of small mushrooms in the family Bolbitiaceae. Description The genus ''Bolbitius'' is defined as small thin ''Mycena''-like mushrooms, with a hymenoderm pileipellis, a glutinous cap surface, and spores that are brown i ...

'' are mushrooms which are thin, ''

Mycena ''Mycena'' is a genus of about 500 species of fungi. Rarely more than a few centimeters in width, the mushrooms are characterized by a small conical or bell-shaped cap and a thin fragile stem. Most are grey or brown, but a few species have brigh ...

''-like, with gelatinous

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

surface. These lack a

veil A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the human head, head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has be ...

, are

saprotrophic Saprotrophic nutrition or lysotrophic nutrition is a process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion involved in the processing of decayed (dead or waste) organic matter. It occurs in saprotrophs, and is most often associated with fungi ...

, and tend to be found with grass. ''

Conocybe ''Conocybe'' is a genus of mushrooms with '' Conocybe tenera'' as the type species and at least 243 other species. There are at least 50 different species in North America. Most have a long, thin fragile stipe and are delicate, growing in grass ...

'' are mushrooms which are thin, ''Mycena''-like, with a dry cap surface. These are small and saprotrophic, and tend to be found with grass. These have cheilocystidia which are capitate. ''

Pholiotina ''Pholiotina'' is a genus of small agaric fungi. It was circumscribed by Swiss mycologist Victor Fayod in 1889 for '' Conocybe''-like species with partial veils. The genus has since been expanded to include species lacking partial veils. Taxonom ...

'' are mushrooms which are thin, ''Mycena''-like, with a dry cap surface. These are small and saprotrophic, and tend to be found with grass, and have a veil. Some have a membranous veil, mid- stipe, others the veil breaks up and can be found on the cap margin. These are separated from

in that the cheilocystidia are non-capitate. ''

Descolea ''Descolea'' is a genus of fungi in the family Bolbitiaceae. Described by mycologist Rolf Singer in 1952, the widespread genus contains about 15 species. It was formerly placed in the family Cortinariaceae because of its Wiktionary:limoniform, li ...

'' includes ''Pholiotina''-like mushrooms that are

ectomycorrhizal An ectomycorrhiza (from Greek ἐκτός ', "outside", μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; ectomycorrhizas or ectomycorrhizae, abbreviated EcM) is a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbiont, or mycobion ...

and have limoniform spores.

References

* *

Bolbitiaceae The Bolbitiaceae are a family (biology), family of mushroom-forming basidiomycete fungi. A 2008 estimate placed 17 genera and 287 species in the family. Bolbitiaceae was circumscription (taxonomy), circumscribed by mycologist Rolf Singer in 1948 ...

Taxa named by Rolf Singer {{Agaricales-stub

Description

Differences in genera

See also

References