Agaricomycetes

Class of basidiomycetes (Basidiomycota)

Food, Animal source foods, Fungi, Basidiomycetes (Basidiomycota)

Consumption area(s): Earth

Introduction

Agaricomycetes (Basidiomycota) are a highly diverse group of fungi that include orders such as Auriculariales and Sebacinales, encompassing the majority of mushroom-producing species as well as many other related fungi. They are clearly distinct from Tremellomycetes and Dacrymycetes, often referred to as jelly fungi, though a few, like Auricularia, are still classified within Agaricomycetes. As of 2008, this group contained approximately 17 orders, 100 families, 1147 genera, and around 21,000 species, making it one of the most species-rich and ecologically significant group within the Basidiomycota.

Description of Agaricomycetes

All Agaricomycetes produce basidiocarps, whose size varies dramatically, from tiny cup-shaped structures only a few millimeters wide to enormous form like Phellinus ellipsoideus, spanning several meters and weighing up to 110 lb (500 kilograms). This group also includes some of the largest and oldest organisms on Earth; for example, a single Armillaria gallica mycelium can cover 37 acres (15 hectares), weigh 22,000 pounds (10,000 kilograms), and be around 1,500 years old.

Most species are terrestrial, though a few inhabit aquatic environments, and they thrive in a wide range of habitats. The majority act as saprophytes while others are parasitic, and some form mutualistic symbioses, notably as mycorrhizal partners of forest trees.

Classification of Agaricomycetes

Agaricomycetes are divided into orders; among these, the ones that include edible species are:

• Agaricales (common mushrooms, chanterelles, shiitake, enoki, porcini)
• Auriculariales (wood ear mushrooms, jelly ear)
• Boletales (boletes, porcini, king bolete)
• Cantharellales (chanterelles, black trumpets)
• Polyporales (Ganoderma lucidum)
• Russulales (milk-caps, saffron milk cap, russula species)