Question

Basidia within a basidiocarp are obvious for mushrooms, but this may not be as obvious for other examples that you have observed. For each of the examples of basidiomycetes that you have observed, speculate about the location of structures analogous to the basidia observed in mushrooms. Think about the formation of spores by meiosis.

a. bird's-nest fungi
b. common puffballs
c. earthstar puffball
d. shelf fungi
e. corn smut

Answer 1

Birds nest fungi: Basidicarp, a cup shaped with several lenticular bodies appear as bird's nest with eggs. The eggs are called the peridioles and the nest serves release the eggs onto the twigs or branches and spores are liberated .

common puffball: The young fruit body is covered with whitish spines that become mark of scar after maturity.

Earth star puff balls: The fruiting body is in the shape of an egg, it has an outer part that separates away from the inner basidiocarp and splits into several rays which curve backwards and resembles a star.

shelf fungi: The fruiting body develops on the tree trunks and termed conk which are tough and leathery often plate-like growing out of the tree trunks.

corn smut: The diploid teliospores germinate and undergo meiosis to result in four haploid basidiospores.