Glossary of Mycological Terms (Mushrooms)

Glossary of Mycological Terms

Arbuscule – a highly branched (“little tree”) structure which grows inside the plant cell wall but outside the plasma membrane

Appressorium – a specialized cell typical of many fungal hyphae that is used to attach to a specific location on a root hair. It is a flattened, hyphal pressing organ, from which a minute peg grows and penetrates the host epidermis.

Ascomycete - a fungus whose spores develop within asci. The ascomycetes include the fungal component of most lichens, and a few large forms such as morels and truffles.  Ascomycota is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species.

Basidiomycete – a fungus whose spores develop on a basidium; a group of higher fungi that have septate hyphae, including rusts, smuts, mushrooms, and puffballs

Epiphyte - a plant that grows above the ground, supported non-parasitically by another plant or object, and deriving its nutrients and water from the air

Ericoid – resembling heath.  The Ericaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acid and infertile growing conditions.

Hartig net - a network of inward growing hyphae, that extends into the root, penetrating between the epidermis and cortex. The Hartig net is named after Theodor Hartig, a 19th-century German forest biologist and botanist.

Hypha (plural – hyphae) - a long, branching filamentous structure of a fungus. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium

Hydrophyte - a plant that grows in water or very moist ground; an aquatic plant

Monophyletic – a group of organisms descended from a common evolutionary ancestor

Mycorrhiza (plural - mycorrhizae) - a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant's root system.

Rhizosphere – a plant’s root system, and the. narrow region of soil that is directly influenced by root secretions

Vesicle – a structure within or outside a cell, consisting of liquid or cytoplasm enclosed by a lipid bilayer

Source:  https://namyco.org/glossary_of_mycological_terms.php