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Sporocarp (fungi)

Sporocarp (fungi)

In fungi, the sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are born. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cycle, while the rest of the life cycle is characterized by vegetative mycelial growth and asexual spore production.

The sporocarp of a basidiomycete is known as a "basidiocarp" or "basidiome", while the fruitbody of an ascomycete is known as an "ascocarp". Many shapes and morphologies are found in both basidiocarps and ascocarps; these features play an important role in the identification and taxonomy of fungi.

Fruitbodies are termed "epigeous" if they grow on the ground, like those of ordinary mushrooms, while others which grow underground are "hypogeous". Epigeous sporocarps that are visible to the naked eye, especially fruitbodies of a more or less agaricoid morphology, are often referred to as mushrooms, while hypogeous fungi are usually called truffles or false truffles. During their evolution truffles lost the ability to disperse their spores by air currents, and propagate instead by animal consumption and subsequent dispersal of their spores.

In amateur mushroom hunting, and to a large degree in academic mycology as well, identification of higher fungi is based on the features of the sporocarp.

The largest known fruitbody is a specimen of Phellinus ellipsoideus (formerly Fomitiporia ellipsoidea) found on Hainan. It measures up to 1,085 centimetres (427 in) in length and is estimated to weigh between 400 and 500 kilograms (880 and 1,100 lb).[1][2]

See also

  • Pileus area index

References

[1]
Citation Link//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21872178Cui, B.-K.; Dai, Y.-C. (2011). "Fomitiporia ellipsoidea has the largest fruitbody among the fungi". Fungal Biology. 115 (9): 813–814. doi:10.1016/j.funbio.2011.06.008. PMID 21872178.
Sep 19, 2019, 8:11 PM
[2]
Citation Linkwww.bbc.co.ukWalker, M. (1 August 2011). "Giant fungus discovered in China". BBC. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
Sep 19, 2019, 8:11 PM
[3]
Citation Link//doi.org/10.2134%2Fjeq1990.00472425001900030004x10.2134/jeq1990.00472425001900030004x
Sep 19, 2019, 8:11 PM
[4]
Citation Linkdoi.org10.1016/j.funbio.2011.06.008
Sep 19, 2019, 8:11 PM
[5]
Citation Linkwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov21872178
Sep 19, 2019, 8:11 PM
[6]
Citation Linkwww.bbc.co.uk"Giant fungus discovered in China"
Sep 19, 2019, 8:11 PM
[7]
Citation Linkdoi.org10.2134/jeq1990.00472425001900030004x
Sep 19, 2019, 8:11 PM
[8]
Citation Linken.wikipedia.orgThe original version of this page is from Wikipedia, you can edit the page right here on Everipedia.Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Additional terms may apply.See everipedia.org/everipedia-termsfor further details.Images/media credited individually (click the icon for details).
Sep 19, 2019, 8:11 PM