The Families of Mushrooms and Toadstools Represented in the British Isles | |
Formerly Corticiaceae p.p.
Morphology. The fruit-bodies producing basidia and basidiospores; persistent; flattened and more or less appressed to the substrate or encrusting, with the hymenium on the outside (resupinate, waxy); white or whitish. The hymenium with pegs or spinose, or smooth. The hymenial layer not readily separable from the supporting flesh. The hymenium not thickening. Cystidia (hymenial) present; gloeocystidia. Hyphidia represented by dendrohyphidia. The basidia unmodified; not of the ceratobasidialean type (q.v.). The basidiospores white; smooth; inamyloid.
The hyphal walls lamellate, with a thin, electron-dense outer layer and a relatively thick, electron-transparent inner layer. The hyphae dimitic.
Ecology. Parasitic, or saprophytic. The fruit-bodies borne on the ground, or on dead wood, or on living wood (lignicolous, herbicolous or humicolous).
British representation. About 5 species in Britain; Crustomyces, Parvobasidium.
World representation. 26 species; genera 8. Widespread.
Classification. Basidiomycota; Basidiomycetes; Agaricomycetidae; Polyporales.
To view the illustrations with detailed captions, go to the interactive key. This also offers full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2008 onwards. The families of mushrooms and toadstools represented in the British Isles. Version: 14th February 2008. http://delta-intkey.com’.