Ascocarp

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

An ascocarp, or ascoma (pl.: ascomata), is the fruiting body (

better source needed
]

Classification

Tissue arrangement. The peridium is indicated in pink. Note the cylindrical asci in the two left types (apothecium, peri-/pseudothecium), and the globose asci in the two right types (cleistothecium, gymnothecium).
Relative sizes of apothecium, peri-/pseudothecium and cleisto-/gymnothecium (from left to right).

The ascocarp is classified according to its placement (in ways not fundamental to the basic

truffles, are termed hypogeous. The structure enclosing the hymenium
is divided into the types described below (apothecium, cleistothecium, etc.) and this character is important for the taxonomic classification of the fungus. Apothecia can be relatively large and fleshy, whereas the others are microscopic—about the size of flecks of ground pepper.

Apothecium

Diagram of an apothecium showing sterile tissues as well as developing and mature asci

An apothecium (plural: apothecia) is a wide, open, saucer-shaped or cup-shaped fruit body. It is sessile and fleshy. The structure of the apothecium chiefly consists of three parts:

morel, Morchella, an edible ascocarp, not a mushroom, favored by gourmets, is a mass of apothecia fused together in a single large structure or cap. The genera Helvella and Gyromitra
are similar.

  • The ascocarp of a morel contains numerous apothecia.
    The ascocarp of a
    morel
    contains numerous apothecia.

Cleistothecium

A cleistothecium (plural: cleistothecia) is a globose, completely closed fruit body with no special opening to the outside. The ascomatal wall is called

wild boars
, which break open the tasty ascocarps and spread the spores over a wide area. Cleistothecia are found mostly in fungi that have little room available for their ascocarps, for instance those that live under tree bark, or underground like truffles.

Gymnothecium

Similar to a cleistothecium, a gymnothecium is a completely enclosed structure containing globose or pear-shaped, deliquescent asci. However, unlike the cleistothecium, the peridial wall of a gymnothecium consists of a loosely woven "tuft" of hyphae, often ornamented with elaborate coils or spines. Examples are the Gymnoascus, Talaromyces and the dermatophyte Arthroderma.

Perithecium

Perithecia of Nectria

Perithecia are flask shaped structures opening by a pore or

Claviceps and Neurospora
.

Sometimes the perithecia are "free" (individually visible from the outside), but in many species they are embedded in a dense sterile tissue of haploid cells called a stroma (plural: stromata).[3]

Pseudothecium

Diagram of a pseudothecium. Eight ascospores (green) are typically present in each ascus.
Bitunicate asci in the pseudothecium of Leptosphaerulina sp.

This is similar to a perithecium, but the asci are not regularly organised into a hymenium and they are

bitunicate, having a double wall that expands when it takes up water and shoots the enclosed spores out suddenly to disperse them. Example species are Apple scab (Venturia inaequalis) and the horse chestnut disease Guignardia
aesculi.

See also

References

  1. ^ "ascocarp (fruiting structure of fungi)". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Atlas of Clinical Fungi (glossary)". Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  3. ISBN 9780691180373
    .
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