144 



KINGDOMS MONERA AND PROTISTA: 



2 types of 



germination 



f 



uninucleate 



vegetative 



mycelium 



uninucleate 

 vegetative 

 mycelium 



basidiospores 



binucleate^ 

 mycelium 



I 



fruiting body — 



oidia 



basidia 

 A Higher Club Fungus 



basidiospores 



nuclear fusion 



binucleate 

 hyphae 



teliospores 



Corn Smut 



basidiospores 

 ¥ conidia 



/ 



uninucleate 

 veg. myc 



3 types of 

 germination 



basidiospores 



^ 



hyphal fusion 



bmuc. myc. 

 fruiting body 



bosidia 



A Higher Club Fungus 



uninucleate 

 . veg. myc 



basidiospores 

 promycelia 

 teliospores 

 telium 



\^ spermatia 

 hyphae-^ 



binuc. myc. 



1 

 aecium 



T 



aeciospores 



uredium • 



Wheat Rust 



Figure 8.15 Generalized life cycle of the club fungi. The various club fungi spores include 

 hapioid basidiospores and conidia and diploid aeciospores, oidia, teliospores, and urediospores. 

 Typically, the basidiospores constitute the stage that disperses these fungi. In corn smut, 

 basidiospores infest new corn plants. In wheat rust the aeciospore through basidiospore- 

 formation stages normally occur on a grain plant, usually wheat, and basidiospore through 

 aeciospore-formotion stages on a barberry plant. 



der as some of the club fungi shown in Figure 8.14. 

 Therefore, mushrooms do not represent either clear- 

 cut taxa or a single taxon. In spite of this, the word 

 "mushroom" is a convenient designation for any 

 fleshy fungus, Ascomycete or Basidiomycete, and 

 "toadstool" may be useful for umbrella-shaped forms. 



IMPERFECT FUNGI 



Fungi without known perfect stages once were 

 grouped into a Class Deuteromycetes. However, 



as time goes on, more and more of these fungi are 

 found to have a perfect stage. The discovery of per- 

 fect stages usually places such organisms in the Class 

 Ascomycetes, but many were found to be Basidiomy- 

 cetes. 



Approximately 10,000 species of fungi still are 

 without known perfect stages, and there is good 

 reason to believe that some of these do not have a 

 perfect stage. An often quoted example of such 

 fungi are the ones that cause athlete's foot. This 

 group of species, collectively called Epidermophylon 



