Tricholoma sp. - Cyprus

Tricholoma is a genus of fungus that contains a large number of fairly fleshy white-spored gilled mushrooms which are found worldwide generally growing in woodlands. These are ectomycorrhizal fungi, existing in a symbiotic relationship with various species of coniferous or broad-leaved trees. The generic name derives from the Greek trichos (τριχος) meaning hair and loma (λωμα) meaning fringe or border,although only a few species (such as T. vaccinum) have shaggy caps which fit this description.

Some well-known species are the East Asian Tricholoma matsutake, also known as "matsutake" or songi, and the North American speciesTricholoma magnivelare, also known as "ponderosa mushroom", "American matsutake", or "Pine mushroom". Some are safe to eat, yet there are a few poisonous members, such as T. pardinum, T. tigrinum and T. equestre.

Many species originally described within Tricholoma have since been moved to other genera. These include the Wood blewit (Clitocybe nuda), previously Tricholoma nudum, blewit (Clitocybe saeva), previously Tricholoma personatum, and St George's mushroom (Calocybe gambosa) previously Tricholoma gambosum.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Agros 7/11/2014 by George Konstantinou

Conocybe sp. - Cyprus

Conocybe is a genus of mushrooms with Conocybe tenera as the type species and at least 243 other species. There are at least 50 different species in North America.

Most have a long, thin fragile stipe and are delicate, growing in grasslands on dead moss, dead grass, sand dunes, decayed wood, and dung. Conocybe species generally prefer fertile soils in lawns and pastures and are found worldwide. Conocybes are sometimes called dunce caps or cone heads due to their conical or bell-shaped caps. Species of Conocybe that have a well-developed partial veil are placed in the subgenus Pholiotina.  Similar to Galerina, a Conocybe species can be distinguished microscopically by its cellular cap cuticle, which is filamentous (thread-like) in Galerina. It is easy to confuse Conocybe species for Galerina unless the microscopic nature of the cap cuticle is examined. Conocybes have cap cuticles resembling cobblestones. Conocybes can also be mistaken for species of Bolbitius.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Platania 12/11/2014 by George Konstantinou

Psathyrella sp. - Cyprus

Psathyrella is a large genus of about 400 fungi, and is similar to the genera Coprinellus, Coprinopsis, Coprinus and Panaeolus, usually with a thin cap and white or yellowish white hollow stem. The caps do not self digest as do those of Coprinellus and Coprinopsis. Some also have brown spores rather than black. These fungi are often drab-colored, difficult to identify, and inedible, and so they are sometimes considered uninteresting. However they are quite common and can occur at times when there are few other mushrooms to be seen. The first report of a gilled mushroom fruiting underwater is Psathyrella aquatica.The genus name Psathyrella is a diminutive form of Psathyra, derived from the Greek word meaning "friable", psathuros (ψαθυρος)

In order to identify the species it may be necessary to take into account the presence and nature of any veil remnants on cap (which may only be visible on very young fruiting bodies), the colour of young fruiting bodies, which is often more vivid than with older ones, whether the cap is hygrophanous (it can well be a translucent brown or ochre colour in a humid state but a pure opaque white on drying out), and the spore size and the presence and nature of cheilocystidia, pleurocystidia and caulocystidia, distinctive sterile cells on the gill face, gill edge and stipe respectively.

In the BBC series "Wild Food", Gordon Hillman related an incident where he was accidentally given a sample of Psathyrella instead of edible mushrooms. After consuming the mushrooms, Hillman drank a glass of beer and suffered an adverse reaction, suffering blue-and-white monochrome vision followed by memory problems and breathing difficulties. Hillman wrote the name of the fungus on a piece of paper which he attached to his chest and later recovered after having his stomach pumped.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos  Zakaki 8/11/2014 by George Konstantinou

Suillus bellinii (Inzenga) Watling (1967) - Cyprus

Suillus bellinii is a pored mushroom of the genus Suillus in the family Suillaceae. It is found in coastal pine forests of southern Europe.

The cap is initially convex and irregular, but becomes flatter with maturity, reaching up to 15 cm in diameter. The thick cuticle is brown and marbled with white to gray tones towards the periphery, especially in young specimens. It is very viscid during wet weather and peels easily - characteristics shared by many species of Suillus. The tubes are short, while the pores are small and coloured whitish, beige and, with maturity, yellowish. The pores may exude a reddish latex in fresh specimens.

The stem is short, cylindrical and coloured whitish, ornamented with reddish dots along its length. The firm flesh is whitish and yellowish in the stipe base and it is said to have a fruity odour and a pleasant taste. It is often infested with insect larvae. In a colour reaction test with ammonia solution, the flesh turns crimson.

The spores are ochre-brown in colour, fusiform, sized 8-10 by 3.5-4.5 μm

Suillus bellinii is a thermophilic fungus, occurring in the Mediterranean region of southern Europe in coastal pine forests. It forms ectomycorrhizal associations with species of pine including Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis), maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) and stone pine (Pinus pinea)

It is reportedly edible. Removal of the slimy cap cuticle is recommended.

.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos  Chalefka 9/11/2014  by George Konstantinou

Rhizopogon roseolus (Corda) Th.Fr. (1909) - Cyprus

Rhizopogon roseolus is an ectomycorrhizal fungus used as a soil inoculant in agriculture and horticulture. It is considered a delicacy in east Asia and Japan where it is traditionally known as shoro. Techniques for the commercial cultivation of this fungus in pine plantations have been developed and applied with successful results in Japan and New Zealand

.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos  Kornos 8/11/2014  by George Konstantinou

Jack-o'-lantern mushroom - Omphalotus olearius= Clitocybe olearia (DC.) Sing.- Cyprus

Omphalotus olearius, commonly known as the jack-o'-lantern mushroom, is a poisonous orange gilled mushroom that to an untrained eye appears similar to some chanterelles. It is notable for its bioluminescent properties. It is found in woodland areas in Europe, where it grows on decaying stumps, buried roots or at the base of hardwood trees. A similar, but phylogenetically distinct species found in eastern North America is Omphalotus illudens.

Unlike the chanterelle, the jack-o'-lantern mushroom contains the toxin illudin S, and is poisonous to humans. While not lethal, consuming this mushroom leads to very severe cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea. Complicating its toxicity is the fact that it smells and looks very appealing

The jack-o'-lantern mushroom is orange. Its bioluminescence, a blue-green color, can be observed in fresh specimens in low light conditions once the eye becomes dark-adapted. The whole mushroom doesn't glow — only the gills do so. This is due to an enzyme called luciferase, acting upon a compound called luciferin, leading to the emission of light much as fireflies do when glowing.

.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos  Agros 20/11/2014  by George Konstantinou

Mycena seynesii (Quélet 1877) .- Μυκήνη του Seynes - Cyprus

Mycena is a large genus of small saprotrophic mushrooms that are rarely more than a few centimeters in width. They are characterized by a white spore print, a small conical or bell-shaped cap, and a thin fragile stem. Most are gray or brown, but a few species have brighter colors. Most have a translucent and striate cap, which rarely has an incurved margin. The gills are attached and usually have cystidia. Some species, like Mycena haematopus, exude a latex when the stem is broken, and many have the odor of bleach.

Mycenas are hard to identify to species and some are distinguishable only by microscopic features such as the shape of the cystidia. Some species are edible, while others contain toxins, but the edibility of most is not known, as they are too small to be useful in cooking.Mycena cyanorrhiza stains blue and contains the hallucinogen psilocybin and Mycena pura contains the mycotoxin muscarine.

Over 33 species are known to be bioluminescent, creating a glow known as foxfire. These species are divided among 16 lineages, leading to evolutionary uncertainty in whether the luminescence developed once and was lost among many species, or evolved in parallel by several species. What, if any, benefit the fungus derives from the luminescence is uncertain.

Alexander Smith's 1947 Mycena monograph identified 232 species; the genus is now known to include about 500 species worldwide.Maas Geesteranus divided the genus into 38 sections in 1992, providing keys to each for all the species of the Northern Hemisphere. Many new species have been discovered since then, and four new sections have been proposed. Taxonomy is complex, as most sections are not truly homogeneous, and the keys fail for some species, especially those that satisfy some criteria for only part of ther life cycle. Some sections contain only one species.

The name Mycena comes from the Ancient Greek μύκης, meaning mushroom. Species in the genus Mycena (and in Hemimycena) are commonly known as bonnets..From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos  Charzia 5/12/2012  by George Konstantinou

Overflowing Slimy Stem - Limacella illinita (Fries) Earle (1933) - Cyprus

Limacella illinita, or Overflowing Slimy Stem, is a mushroom in the genus Limacella, in the family Amanitaceae.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos  Zakaki 8/11/2014 by George Konstantinou

Laetiporus sulphureus (Bull.) Murrill (1920) - Cyprus

Laetiporus sulphureus was first described as Boletus sulphureus by French mycologist Pierre Bulliard in 1789. It has had many synonyms and was finally given its current name in 1920 by American mycologist William Murrill. Laetiporus means with bright pores and sulphureus means the colour of sulphur.

Investigations in North America have shown that there are several similar species within what has been considered L. sulphureus, and that the true L. sulphureus may be restricted to regions east of the Rocky Mountains. Phylogenetic analyses of ITS, nuclear large subunit and mitochondrial small subunit rDNA sequences from North American collections have delineated five distinct clades within the core Laetiporus clade

The cap is is attached directly to the trunk of a tree and is initially knob-shaped, but soon expands to fan-shaped, typically growing in overlapping tiers. It is sulphur-yellow to bright orange in colour and has a suedelike texture. Old fruitbodies fade to tan or whitish. Each shelve may be anywhere from 5 to 60 cm (2 to 24 in) in diameter and 4 cm (1.4 in) thick. The fertile surface is sulphur-yellow with small pores or tubes and has a white spore print. When fresh, the flesh is succulent and exudes a yellowish juice, but soon becomes dry and brittle. It has a strong, fungusy smell.

Laetiporus sulphureus is widely distributed across Europe and North America though may be restricted to east of the Rockies.

It grows on dead or mature hardwoods and has been reported from a very wide range of host trees, such as Quercus, Prunus,Pyrus, Populus, Salix, Robinia, and Fagus, occasionally also from conifers,  from August to October or later, sometimes as early as June. In the Mediterranean region, this species is usually found on Ceratonia and Eucalyptus.  It can usually be found growing in clusters

The mushroom causes brown cubical rot on the heartwood in the roots, base and stem. At first the wood is discoloured yellowish to red. Later on it becomes reddish-brown and brittle. At the last stage the wood can be rubbed like powder between the fingers. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos  Zakaki 8/11/2014 by George Konstantinou

Gymnosporangium sp - Cyprus

Gymnosporangium is a genus of heteroecious plant-pathogenic fungi which alternately infect members of the family Cupressaceae, primarily species in the genus Juniperus (junipers), and members of the family Rosaceae in the subfamily Maloideae (apples, pears,quinces, shadbush, hawthorns, rowans and their relatives). According to the Dictionary of the Fungi (10th edition, 2008), there are about 57 species in the genus.

In junipers (the primary hosts) (see photo), some species of the fungus form a ball like gall about 2–4 cm in diameter which produces a set of orange tentacle-like spore tubes called telial horns. These horns expand and have a jelly like consistency when wet. In other species the telia are produced directly from the bark of the juniper with no obvious gall formation or swelling such as in G. clarvariforme . The spores are released and travel on the wind until they infect an apple, pear, or hawthorn tree.

On the secondary hosts, the fungus produces yellowish depressions on the leaves. It also infects the fruit, which grows whitish tubes like a Medusa head. These are the spore tubes. The spores must then infect a juniper to complete the life cycle.

The fungus does not cause serious damage to junipers, but apple and pear trees can suffer serious loss of fruit production due to the effects of the fungus. Due to the economic impacts of the rusts in some areas where orchards are of commercial importance, some regions have attempted to ban the planting of and/or eradicate the coniferous hosts.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos  Kormakitis 11/2/2013 by George Konstantinou

Brown slimecap or Copper spike - Chroogomphus rutilus (Schaeff.) O.K.Mill. (1964) - Cyprus

Chroogomphus rutilus, commonly known as the brown slimecap or the copper spike, is a species of fungus in the Gomphidiaceae family. First described scientifically as Agaricus rutilus by Jacob Christian Schaffer in 1774, it was transferred to the genus Chroogomphus in 1964 by Orson K. Miller, Jr.. The fungus lives ectomycorrhizally with Pinus species, and is found in Europe and North America. The fruit bodies are edible but not highly regarded. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos  Chalefka 9/11/2014 by George Konstantinou  

Beauveria bassiana (Bals.-Criv.) Vuill. - Cyprus

Beauveria bassiana is a fungus that grows naturally in soils throughout the world and acts as a parasite on various arthropod species, causing white muscardine disease; it thus belongs to the entomopathogenic fungi. It is being used as a biological insecticide to control a number of pests such as termites, thrips, whiteflies, aphids and different beetles. Its use in the control of bedbugs and malaria-transmitting mosquitos is under investigation

The species is named after the Italian entomologist Agostino Bassi, who discovered it in 1815 as the cause of the muscardine disease which then led to carriers transmittiing it by airborne means. It was formerly also known as Tritirachium shiotae. The name B. bassiana has long been used to describe a species complex of morphologically similar and closely related isolates. Rehner and Buckley  have shown that B. bassiana consists of many distinct lineages that should be recognized as distinct phylogenetic species and the genus Beauveria was redescribed with a proposed type for B. bassiana in 2011. In light of this work and the known existence of cryptic species, it is important to characterise isolates used to develop biological insecticides.
Beauveria bassiana is the anamorph (asexually reproducing form) of Cordyceps bassiana. The latter teleomorph (the sexually reproducing form) has been collected only in eastern Asia.

The insect disease caused by the fungus is a muscardine which has been called white muscardine disease. When the microscopic spores of the fungus come into contact with the body of an insect host, they germinate, penetrate the cuticle, and grow inside, killing the insect within a matter of days. Afterwards, a white mold emerges from the cadaver and produces new spores. A typical isolate of B. bassiana can attack a broad range of insects; various isolates differ in their host range. The factors responsible for host susceptibility are not known.

Beauveria bassiana parasitizing the Colorado potato beetle has been reported to be, in turn, the host of a mycoparasitic fungus Syspastospora parasitica. This organism also attacks related insect-pathogenic species of the Clavicipitaceae.

In culture, B. bassiana grows as a white mould. On most common cultural media, it produces many dry, powdery conidia in distinctive white spore balls. Each spore ball is composed of a cluster of conidiogenous cells. The conidiogenous cells of B. bassiana are short and ovoid, and terminate in a narrow apical extension called a rachis. The rachis elongates after each conidium is produced, resulting in a long zig-zag extension. The conidia are single-celled, haploid, and hydrophobic

Beauveria bassiana can be used as a biological insecticide to control a number of pests such as termites, whiteflies, and many other insects. Its use in the control of malaria-transmitting mosquitos is under investigation.^[2] As an insecticide, the spores are sprayed on affected crops as an emulsified suspension or wettable powder or applied to mosquito nets as a mosquito control agent.

As a species, Beauveria bassiana parasitizes a very wide range of arthropod hosts. However, different strains vary in their host ranges, some having rather narrow ranges, like strain Bba 5653 that is very virulent to the larvae of the Diamondback Moth and kills only few other types of caterpillars. Some strains do have a wide host range and should therefore be considered nonselective biological insecticides. These should not be applied to flowers visited by pollinating insects

.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos  Akanthou 26/12/2014 by George Konstantinou

 Beauveria bassiana  fungus on Ant queen - Messor structor

Honey fungus, - Armillaria mellea (Vahl) P.Kumm. (1871) - Cyprus

Family: Physalacriaceae

Armillaria mellea, commonly known as honey fungus, is a basidiomycete fungus in the genus Armillaria. It is a plant pathogen and part of a cryptic species complex of closely related and morphologically similar species. It causes Armillaria root rot in many plant species and produces mushrooms around the base of trees it has infected. The symptoms of infection appear in the crowns of infected trees as discoloured foliage, reduced growth, dieback of the branches and death. The mushrooms are edible but some people may be intolerant to them. This species is capable of producing light via bioluminescence in its mycelium.

Armillaria mellea is widely distributed in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The fruit body or mushroom, commonly known as stump mushroom, stumpie, honey mushroom, pipinky or pinky, grows typically on hardwoods but may be found around and on other living and dead wood or in open areas.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos  Agros 7/11/2014 by George Konstantinou

Scaly Wood Mushroom - Agaricus silvaticus (Schaeff. 1774) - Cyprus

Family: Agaricaceae

Agaricus silvaticus otherwise known as the Scaly Wood Mushroom, Blushing Wood Mushroom or Pinewood Mushroom, is a common, edible Mushroom, often found in groups in coniferous forests from early summer, or September through to November in the UK.
The greyish-brown cap is hemispherical when young, but later flattens out up to 10 cm in diameter. It is covered with broad scales. The gills are grey when young, and become much darker with age. The spores are chocolate brown. The stem is brownish, often with a hanging ring and a small bulb at the base. The flesh is white with a mild taste, turning reddish when cut. The young fruit bodies are well suited for consumption.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Platania 12/11/2014 by George Konstantinou