''Pholiota'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of small to medium-sized, fleshy

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 ...

s in the family

Strophariaceae The Strophariaceae are a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. Under an older classification, the family covered 18 genera and 1316 species. The species of Strophariaceae have red-brown to dark brown spore prints, while the spores themselves a ...

. They are saprobes that typically live on wood. The genus has a widespread distribution, especially in

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

regions, and contains about 150 species. ''Pholiota'' is derived from the Greek word ''pholis'', meaning "scale".

Taxonomic details

The genus ''Pholiota'' includes mushrooms, with scaly, glutinous to dry

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 ...

surfaces, and that frequently grow on wood or at the bases of trees or on decaying tree roots, and

spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plant ...

that are brown, light brown, or yellowish brown in deposit. These spores are smooth with a

germ pore A germ pore is a small pore in the outer wall of a fungal spore through which the germ tube exits upon germination. It can be wikt:apical, apical or eccentric in its location, and, on light microscopy, may be visualized as a lighter coloured are ...

, although the germ pore can be quite narrow in species. Usually the species have pleurocystidia that include a type called chrysocystidia. There have been several varying concepts of the genus, ranging from a pre-

molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, ...

era very broad concept that nowadays would include the genera ''

Phaeolepiota ''Phaeolepiota'' is a genus of fungi in the family Squamanitaceae. The genus is monotypic, containing the single species ''Phaeolepiota aurea''. Commonly known as Alaskan gold,Arora, David (February 1, 1991). ''All that the Rain Promises and M ...

'', '' Phaeonematoloma'', '' Flammula'', '' Meottomyces'', some ''

Stropharia The genus ''Stropharia'' (sometimes known by the common name roundheads) is a group of medium to large agarics with a distinct membranous ring on the stipe. Well-known members of this genus include the edible '' Stropharia rugosoannulata'' and t ...

'' species, some ''

Hypholoma ''Hypholoma'' is a genus of fungi which are quite well known due to the commonness of sulphur tuft (''Hypholoma fasciculare'') on stumps in temperate woodlands. Species in this genus are easily recognizable because the dark spores create a dist ...

'' species, ''

Hemipholiota ''Hemipholiota'' is a genus of agaric fungi in the order Agaricales. It was originally proposed by Rolf Singer in 1962 as a subgenus of '' Pholiota'' to contain species with absent or sparse pleurocystidia and absent chrysocystidia. Henri Rom ...

'', ''

Hemistropharia ''Hemistropharia'' is a genus of agarics of unclear classification, though possibly related to the Hymenogastraceae or Tubarieae. A monotypic genus, it contains the single species ''Hemistropharia albocrenulata''. This species, originally named ...

'', some ''

Kuehneromyces ''Kuehneromyces'' is a genus of agaric fungi in the family Strophariaceae. The genus was circumscribed by mycologists Rolf Singer and Alexander H. Smith in 1946. The genus name of ''Kuehneromyces'' is in honour of Robert Kühner (1903-1996), wh ...

'' and some ''

Phaeomarasmius ''Phaeomarasmius'' is a genus of fungi in the family Tubariaceae. It was formerly thought to belong in the family Inocybaceae The Inocybaceae are a family of fungi in the order Agaricales, the largest order of mushroom-forming fungi. It is o ...

'', etc. Currently the genus is restricted to a smaller but still large group of species that primarily grow on wood, causing a white rot, but other taxa occur on burnt ground following forest fires or camp fires, on peaty or forest soil, but none are known to be

mycorrhiza A mycorrhiza (; , mycorrhiza, or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant's rhizosphere, the plant root system and its surroundings. Mycorrhizae play ...

l. Many species have prominent

partial veil In mycology, a partial veil (also called an inner veil, to differentiate it from the "outer", or universal veil) is a temporary structure of tissue found on the fruiting bodies of some Basidiomycota, basidiomycete fungus, fungi, typically agarics. ...

s and form an annulus or annular ring on their

stipes Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Carthaginians, ...

. None of the species have purplish or purplish brown spore prints. None form acanthocytes on their

mycelia Mycelium (: mycelia) is a root-like structure of a fungus consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. Its normal form is that of branched, slender, entangled, anastomosing, hyaline threads. Fungal colonies composed of mycelium are fo ...

Selected species

References

External links

{{Authority control Agaricomycetes genera Strophariaceae