What is the state of knowledge today?
The twentieth century saw resident mycologists studying Australian fungi and making major contributions to our knowledge, so taking steps towards fulfilling McAlpine's 1895 wish, but progress has been slow and erratic and there is still a very ... [... more]
Australian National Botanic Gardens |
Two Major Groups
The (macro) fungi that are dealt with in this website can be divided into two broad groups, called In ascomycetes the spores are produced within microscopic cells called Here are some drawings of asci. If you click on the camera you will see a ... [... more]
Australian National Botanic Gardens |
Morchella esculenta group
Description and distribution map for Morchella esculenta group in Australia. These are 'cup' fungi which have been turned inside out during their development so that the spore bearing layer is on the outside. There are several additional species ... [... more]
Fungimap |
Neolentinus dactyloides
Description and distribution map for Neolentinus dactyloides in Australia. Neolentinus dactyloidesis one of a group of fungi that fruit freely only after fire. The tough, leathery fungus arises from a buried mass of earth bound together by ... [... more]
Fungimap |
Plectania campylospora
Description and distribution map for Plectania campylospora in Australia. Plectania campylospora.This is one of the larger cup fungi found on wood. A large (to 5 cm diam.) deeply cupshaped disc fungus growing on rooting wood in wet sites such as ... [... more]
Fungimap |
Geastrum fornicatum
Description and distribution map for Geastrum fornicatum in Australia. Geastrum fornicatum (= G. fenestriatum) is a puffball of the earthstar type, with mycelial layer forming a basal cup, to which are attached the tips of the 4-5 rays; these ... [... more]
Fungimap |
Helvella villosa Dissing and Nannf. Rifai (1968)
Description and distribution map for Helvella villosa in Australia. Helvella villosa. Club fungus with grey brown disc to 25 mm diam., on long stem (to 50 mm diam.); outer surface of disc and stem hairy. On ground. RARE. Compare Plectania ... [... more]
Fungimap |
Cymatoderma elegans
Description and distribution map for Cymatoderma elegans in Australia. Cymatoderma elegans, large thelophore on wood, with funnel-shaped fruit body on short stalk; underside grey with shallow ridges. Australian collections are var. ... [... more]
Fungimap |
Mycorrhizas
While the classical Greek word for mushroom is part of the word mycorrhiza, there are many mycorrhizal fungi which have fruiting bodies other than mushrooms. An example is Hydnum repandum . It’s superficially mushroom-like (stem and cap), but ... [... more]
Australian National Botanic Gardens |
Cosmopolitan and pan-tropical species
A number of fungi are widespread through human agency (such as unintended dispersal through trade) and there are some examples such fungi in the IMPORTS, EXPORTS AND PUZZLES SECTION. However, there are also many species which were naturally ... [... more]
Australian National Botanic Gardens |
The twentieth century
In the same year he published his Systematic arrangement of the Australian fungi. This was not a descriptive guide to the Australian species and at first glance it looks to be a dry and boring list of species. But it is an annotated list of the ... [... more]
Australian National Botanic Gardens |
perithecia
The Flask Fungi produce their spores in tiny, generally spherical, chambers (called Of course, this is a very simplistic diagram and there is considerable variation in both the shapes and contents of perithecia. These diagrams show some of the ... [... more]
Australian National Botanic Gardens |
