The mycology of the Basidiomycetes

摘要

A number of significant tree and plantation root diseases in tropical Asia are caused by certain species of basidiomycetes. This important group of fungi, which includes such familiar forms as mushrooms, toadstools, bracket, shelf, and crust fungi, puff balls, earthstars, and coral fungi, is characterised by the production of sexual spores on the outside of a microscopic structure called the basidium. Basidiomycetes occupy many niches in the environment, including decomposing litter, decaying wood and soil organic matter, in a variety of habitats such as forests and open countryside. Some species form beneficial mycorrhizal relationships with the roots of host trees, but others are important pathogens of the foliage, stems or root systems of different tree species. Basidiomycete species are traditionally identified by the form and microscopic structure of their fruitbodies, and by their appearance when isolated in laboratory culture. Important root diseases of trees in Indonesia are caused by the basidiomycete fungi Rigidoporus microporus, Junghuhnia vincta, Phellinus noxius, and certain species of Ganoderma.