Overview
The Pezizales are an of the subphylum Pezizomycotina within the phylum Ascomycota. The order contains approximately 1125 species1] organized in 16 families. It contains a number of species of economic importance, such as morels, the black and white truffles, and the desert truffles. The Pezizales are saprobic, mycorrhizal, or parasitic on plants. Species grow on soil, wood, leaves and dung. Soil-inhabiting species often fruit in habitats with a high pH and low content of organic matter, including disturbed ground. Most species occur in temperate regions or at high elevation. Several members of the Sarcoscyphaceae and Sarcosomataceae are common in tropical regions.
Description
Members of this order are characterize d by asci that typically open by rupturing to form a terminal or eccentric lid or operculum. The ascomata are apothecia or are closed structures of various forms derived from apothecia. Apothecia range in size from less than a millimeter to approximately 15 cm, amnd may be stalked or sessile. The order includes epigeous, semihypogeous to hypogeous (truffles) taxa. The ascospores are single-celled, bipolar symmetrical, and usually bilaterally symmetrical, ranging from roughly spherical to ellipsoidal to occasionally fusoid.[2] The ascospores of some species develop surface ornamentations such as warts, ridges, or spines. The tissues of the ascomata are fleshy and often fragile. Although the majority of species are known only in the teleomorphic state, the anamorphs of some species are known.
Photos
Taxonomy
The Order Pezizales is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Family (10): Ascobolaceae · Discinaceae · Helvellaceae · Morchellaceae · Otideaceae · Pezizaceae · Pyronemataceae · Sarcoscyphaceae · Sarcosomataceae · Tuberaceae
- Species: ZipcodeZoo has pages for 5,280 species and subspecies in the Order Pezizales.
Families
Ascobolaceae
Discinaceae
Helvellaceae
The Helvellaceae are a family of fungi, the best known members of which are the elfin saddles of the genus Helvella. Originally erected by Elias Magnus Fries in 1823 as Elvellacai, it contained many genera. Several of these, such as Gyromitra and Discina, have been found to be more distantly related in a molecular study of ribosomal DNA by mycologist Kerry O'Donnell in 1997, leaving a much smaller core clade now redefined as Helvellaceae. Instead, this narrowly defined group is most closely related to the true truffles of the Tuberaceae. [more]
Morchellaceae
The Morchellaceae is a family of fungi. The best known members are the highly-regarded and commercially picked true morels of the genus Morchella, the thimble morels of the genus Verpa, and a genus of cup-shaped fungi Disciotis. [more]
Otideaceae
Pezizaceae
Cup fungi are (Ascomycota: family Pezizaceae) which produce a mushroom that tends to grow in the shape of a "cup". Spores are formed on the inner surface of this fruiting body (mushroom). The cup shape typically serves to focus raindrops into splashing spores out of the cup. Additionally, the curvature enables wind currents to blow the spores out in a different manner than in most agarics and boletes. [more]
Pyronemataceae
Sarcoscyphaceae
Sarcosomataceae
Tuberaceae
Tuberaceae is a family of fungi. It includes the genus Tuber, which includes the so-called "true" Truffles. It was characterized by Mortier in 1822. A molecular study of ribosomal DNA by mycologist Kerry O'Donnell in 1997 found that a small clade now redefined as Helvellaceae is most closely related to the Tuberaceae. [more]
At least 186 species and subspecies belong to the Family Tuberaceae.
More info about the Family Tuberaceae may be found here.
References
- ^ Bisby, Guy Richard; Ainsworth, G. C.; Kirk, P. M.; Aptroot, André (2001). Ainsworth & Bisby's Dictionary of the fungi / by P. M. Kirk... [et al.]; with the assistance of A. Aptroot... [et al.]. Oxon: CAB International. ISBN 0-85199-377-X.
- ^ Hansen K, Pfister DH (2006). "Systematics of the Pezizomycetes--the operculate discomycetes". Mycologia 98 (6): 1029–40. PMID 17486978.
Sources
- The text on this page is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It includes material from Wikipedia retrieved Thursday, August 13, 2009.
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