Basidiomycota

thumb|upright=1.35|Pholiota squarrosa growing at the base of a tree

The Basidiomycota () are one of two large divisions that, together with the Ascomycota, constitute the subkingdom Dikarya (often referred to as the "higher fungi") within the kingdom Fungi. Members are known as basidiomycetes. This division includes: agarics, puffballs, stinkhorns, bracket fungi, other polypores, jelly fungi, boletes, chanterelles, earth stars, smuts, bunts, rusts, mirror yeasts, and Cryptococcus, the human pathogenic yeast.

thumb|right|500px|Diagram showing a basidiomycete mushroom, gill structure, and spore-bearing basidia on the gill margins.

order of fungi

thumb|Polypores (Ganoderma sp.) growing on a tree in [[Borneo]]

Puffballs are a type of fungus featuring a ball-shaped fruiting body that, when mature, bursts on contact or impact, releasing a cloud of dust-like spores into the surrounding area. Puffballs belong to the division Basidiomycota and encompass several genera, including Calvatia, Calbovista and Lycoperdon. The puffballs were previously treated as a taxonomic group called the Gasteromycetes or Gasteromycetidae, but they are now known to be a polyphyletic assemblage.

thumb|right|300px|Agaricus bisporus basidiospores A basidiospore is a reproductive spore produced by basidiomycete fungi, a grouping that includes mushrooms, shelf fungi, rusts, and smuts. Basidiospores typically each contain one haploid nucleus that is the product of meiosis, and they are produced by specialized fungal cells called basidia. Typically, four basidiospores develop on appendages from each basidium, of which two are of one strain and the other two of its opposite strain. In gills under a cap of one common species, there exist millions of basidia.

reproductive structure of fungi

group of fungi

thumb|One of several species called "chanterelle", Cantharellus cibarius thumb|Chanterelles on sale in San Francisco Chanterelle is the common name of several species of agaricomycetous fungi in the genera Cantharellus, Craterellus, Gomphus and Polyozellus. These fungi are orange, yellow or white, meaty and funnel-shaped. On the lower surface, most species have rounded, forked folds that run almost all the way down the stipe, which tapers down from the cap. Many species emit a fruity aroma and often have a mildly peppery taste.

group of fungi

group of fungi

fungal disease of wheat

227x227px|The porcini, Boletus edulis, showing the solid looking, spongy bottom surface, which is the defining characteristic of boletes.|alt=A bolete, Boletus edulis, showing the solid looking, spongy bottom surface, which is the defining characteristic of boletes.|thumb

group of fungi

Geminibasidiomycetes is a class of dikaryotic fungus classified in 2015. Geminibasidiomycetes are heat resistant