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| What is a Mushroom? |
| Mushroom and other fungi are unique and have their very own appeal and beauty. The majority of mushrooms are completely unknown to visitors of the Algonquin Highlands region. Fungi are an extremely important group of organisms that are now officially classified as a kingdom, similarly to the plant and animal kingdoms. Plants are capable of creating their own food in which fungi cannot. Fungi absorb food from plants or soil similarly to roots that absorb water and minerals. The difference with fungi is that the it must digest the material they grow through. This is known as decay. Fungi is the major decay organism in the world. Spawn, or mycelium is the beginning fungus that digests and collects food. When conditions are right and enough food and minerals have been gathered, this hidden fungus will bloom into what we call mushrooms. Mushrooms are the part of fungus that allow for reproduction. They create microscopic “seeds” called spores. |
| Mushrooms in Algonquin Highlands Region |
| Because there are so many different types of fungi it is virtually impossible to know them all. There are more then 5,000 species of conspicuous fungi in Ontario. Nearly 1,000 different species have been found in the Algonquin Highlands region with many more remaining to be discovered. In this site we have focused on 65 typical conspicuous fungi organized into major groups easily recognized in the field. |
| Mushroom Names |
| Because they are so poorly known, most fungi do not have widely accepted English common names. Listed are English names for your convenience, but we have also included the scientific (Latin) names, which you will need to find a particular species in another book. It must be noted that even scientific names are not always agreed on; those used in this site follow "The Agaricales in Modern Taxonomy" (4th edition, Singer, 1986), "British Ascomycetes" (Dennis, 1978) and other modern authorities. |
| Warning: |
| Do not use this guide to identify any mushrooms intended for food. Poisonous look-alikes that may exist have not been included in this site. Mushroom poisoning can range from unpleasant to fatal. Lethal mushrooms are common and may look appealing. |
| mushroom families: boletes coral fungi crust fungi cup fungi gilled jelly polypores puffballs slime molds tooth fungi |
