Fungal fruiting body types

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

thumb|Close up of mold on a strawberry thumb|Penicillium digitatum mold growing on a [[clementine]] A mold () or mould () is one of the structures that certain fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of spores containing fungal secondary metabolites. The spores are the dispersal units of the fungi. Not all fungi form molds. Some fungi form mushrooms or ascomata; others grow as single cells, and are called microfungi (for example, yeasts).

thumb|Tuber melanosporum|Black truffle (Tuber melanosporum)

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.

fungi that produce and mature spores on the inside of the fruiting body

thumb|right|250px|The fly agaric, Amanita muscaria, late August, [[Norway]] An agaric () is a type of fungal fruiting body characterized by the presence of a pileus (cap) that is clearly differentiated from the stipe (stalk), with lamellae (gills) on the underside of the pileus. It is a type of mushroom (or toadstool), the diverse group of agarics being lumped together as gilled mushrooms. "Agaric" can also refer more generally to any basidiomycete species characterized by an agaric-type fruiting body.

An ascocarp, or ascoma (: ascomata), is the fruiting body (sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. Ascocarps are most commonly bowl-shaped (apothecia) but may take on a spherical or flask-like form that has a pore opening to release spores (perithecia) or no opening (cleistothecia).

thumb|Phoma-Coelomycetes Pycnidium A pycnidium (plural pycnidia) is an asexual fruiting body produced by mitosporic fungi, for instance in the order Sphaeropsidales (Deuteromycota, Coelomycetes) or order Pleosporales (Ascomycota, Dothideomycetes). It is often spherical or inversely pearshaped (obpyriform) and its internal cavity is lined with conidiophores. When ripe, an opening generally appears at the top, through which the pycnidiospores escape.

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

group of fungi

thumb|upright=1.6|Schematic representations of a typical basidiocarp (left to right): a fruiting body, [[hymenium and basidia]]

group of fungi

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