The North American Checklist identifies the mushroom among us

All of these mushrooms – and hundreds of thousands, if not millions – more – are found in North America. Of those known to science, 44,488 are in a new North American Mushroom Checklist, published this month in the journal Mycology.

"This checklist provides the basis for understanding our national mycoflora, which is timely because there is renewed interest in cataloging all North American mushrooms," said the study's mycologist. 39; natural history of Illinois, Andrew Miller, who led the compilation of data. "Hundreds of scientific citizens are interested in participating in this project."

According to conservative estimates, scientists have so far documented less than one-third of all fungi believed to exist in North America, said Miller, also a member of the University's Plant Biology Department. from Illinois to Urbana-Champaign, where checklist contributors include Scott Bates, from Purdue Northwest University, and consortiums from Macrofungi and Microfungi collections.

While thousands of mushroom species have been identified and described for the first time in Europe, many North American mushrooms have evolved and diversified. "Others are unique to the continent," said Miller.

"Many mushrooms in North America have European names, and although they may be related to their European counterparts, they are often genetically distinct," Miller said. "About half of the 44,488 mushrooms in the new checklist are typical specimens, which means that they are valid North American taxa."

To compile the checklist, the team searched for more than 2.2 million records using the mycology collections portal, which includes data from many universities, botanical gardens and other institutions. The researchers first created a checklist of all species and subspecies of mushrooms in North America, then deleted those clbadified as lichen, then organized the list in alphabetical order, by genre, and by species.

About 20,000 of the mushrooms on the checklist are fungi; the others are barely visible to the naked eye and are therefore clbadified in the "microfungi" category, said Miller. These include mold, mildew and rust, as well as species that break down organic matter in the soil.

Some of the micro-fungi are pathogens, others are useful. Penicillium is best known for the production of penicillin. Microfungals also include yeasts that help make bread and produce alcohol, as well as those that contribute to infections such as athlete's foot infections and yeasts.

According to Miller, macrofongi can range in size from inconspicuous to colossal.

"One of the largest living organisms on the planet is a honey mushroom, Armillaria solidipes, "Miller said. It occurs in the Malheur National Forest, in eastern Oregon, where it grows – mostly hidden – underground. It extends over 5 km, covers an area of ​​more than 1,665 football fields and is believed to be over 2,400 years old. "

Another mushroom, the giant puffball, Calvatia gigantea, can contain up to 7,000 billion spores, said Miller.

"If each spore germinated and became a puff, the puffs produced would weigh more than the Earth," he said.

Fungi have co-evolved with plants for millions of years and have helped help plants move from aquatic environments to the earth, Miller said. They are essential to the cycle of life because they break down organic matter and convert it back into its basic components.

"Although it is estimated that 1.5 to 5.1 million species of fungi exist on Earth, only about 120,000 have been discovered and described," Miller said. "Obviously, we have a lot of work to do to fill the gaps in our knowledge, but this checklist is a first step to properly control North American mushrooms."

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More information:
"The protochecklist of North American mushrooms not lichenized" Mycology (2018). DOI: 10.1080 / 00275514.2018.1515410