Fungi of the genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 Hypholoma are quite well known due to the commonness of Sulphur Tuft (Hypholoma fasciculare) on stumps in temperate

Temperate

In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...

 woodlands. This species is easily recognizable because the dark spore

Spore

In biology, a spore is a reproductive structure that is adapted for dispersal and surviving for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many bacteria, plants, algae, fungi and some protozoa. According to scientist Dr...

s create a distinctive greenish effect on the yellow cap

Pileus (mycology)

The pileus is the technical name for the cap, or cap-like part, of a basidiocarp or ascocarp that supports a spore-bearing surface, the hymenium. The hymenium may consist of lamellae, tubes, or teeth, on the underside of the pileus...

 underside. Hypholoma means "mushrooms with threads" because of the thread-like veil that connects the cap to the stem when young and for the bundles of rhizomorphs which radiate outwards from the stem

Stipe (mycology)

thumb|150px|right|Diagram of a [[basidiomycete]] stipe with an [[annulus |annulus]] and [[volva |volva]]In mycology a stipe refers to the stem or stalk-like feature supporting the cap of a mushroom. Like all tissues of the mushroom other than the hymenium, the stipe is composed of sterile hyphal...

 base.
Other well-known species are H. capnoides

Hypholoma capnoides

Hypholoma capnoides is an edible mushroom which like its poisonous or suspect relatives H. fasciculare and H. sublateritium grows on decaying wood, for example in tufts on old tree stumps. Anyone thinking to eat this mushroom needs to be able to distinguish it from Sulphur Tuft, which is more...

and H. sublateritium

Hypholoma sublateritium

Hypholoma sublateritium, sometimes called Brick Cap, is rarer and less well-known than its relatives, the inedible, and poisonous Sulfur Tuft and the edible Hypholoma capnoides...

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Synonyms

Sometimes Hypholoma has not been considered a genus in its own right, but it has been grouped together with Stropharia

Stropharia

The genus Stropharia is a group of medium to large agarics with a distinct membranous ring on the stipe. The scientific name is derived from the Greek 'στροφος/strophos' meaning "belt", in reference to it...

and Psilocybe

Psilocybe

Psilocybe is a genus of small mushrooms growing worldwide. This genus is best known for its species with psychedelic or hallucinogenic properties, widely known as "magic mushrooms", though the majority of species do not contain hallucinogenic compounds...

under the name of Geophila, Naematoloma, or Nematoloma. The spelling Naematoloma does not appear in the Index Fungorum

Index Fungorum

Index Fungorum, an international project to index all formal names in the Fungi Kingdom. Somewhat comparable to the IPNI, but with more contributing institutions....

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General characteristics

• The fruiting bodies mostly have a central stipe. Some are medium-sized and there are also smaller species. The caps range in colour from yellow/brown to brick red.
• The spore colour is dark brown to black.
• The developing mushroom is enveloped in a veil, but in Hypholoma this can be seen only in very young examples. This means that there is no well-defined ring, and nor are there distinctive flakes on the cap, but there may be cottony ring zones on the stipe, sometimes coloured by the dark spores.
• The genus is widespread throughout the world and its best known representatives grow on dead wood, whilst some others grow in moss, sometimes on moors
  Moorland
  Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
  
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