Armillaria
| Armillaria | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Armillaria mellea | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Agaricales |
| Family: | Physalacriaceae |
| Genus: |
Armillaria (Fr.) Staude |
| Type species | |
|
Armillaria mellea (Vahl) P. Kumm. |
|
| Diversity | |
| c. 45 species | |
| Armillaria sp. | |
|---|---|
| Mycological characteristics | |
 |
gills on hymenium |
 |
cap is convex |
 |
hymenium is adnate |
 |
stipe has a ring |
 |
spore print is white |
 |
ecology is parasitic |
 |
edibility: edible |
Honey fungus, or Armillaria is a genus of parasitic fungi that live on trees and woody shrubs. It includes about 10 species formerly lumped together as A. mellea. Armillarias are long lived and form some of the largest living organisms in the world. The largest organism (of the species Armillaria solidipes) covers more than 3.4 square miles (8.8 km2) in Malheur National Forest and is more than 2,400 years old. Some species of Armillaria display bioluminescence, resulting in foxfire.
Armillaria can be a destructive forest pathogen. It causes "white rot" root disease (see Plant Pathology section) of forests, which distinguishes it from Tricholoma, a mycorrhizal (non-parasitic) genus. Because Armillaria is a facultative saprophyte, it also feeds on dead plant material, allowing it to kill its host, unlike parasites that must moderate their growth to avoid host death.
In the Canadian Prairies (particularly Manitoba), Armillaria is not referred to as “honey fungus” but instead often as pidpenky (Ukrainian: підпеньки), meaning “beneath the stump” in Ukrainian.
The basidiocarp (reproductive structure) of the fungus is a mushroom that grows on wood, typically in small dense clumps or tufts. Their caps (mushroom tops) are typically yellow-brown, somewhat sticky to touch when moist, and, depending on age, may range in shape from to to depressed in the center. The stipe (stalk) may or may not have a ring. All Armillaria species have a white spore print and none have a volva (cup at base) (compare Amanita).
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Wikipedia