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Thesporocarp (also known asfruiting body,fruit body orfruitbody) offungi is amulticellular structure on whichspore-producing structures, such asbasidia orasci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungallife cycle,[1] while the rest of the life cycle is characterized byvegetativemycelial growth andasexual spore production.
The sporocarp of abasidiomycete is known as abasidiocarp orbasidiome, while the fruitbody of anascomycete is known as anascocarp. Many shapes andmorphologies are found in both basidiocarps and ascocarps; these features play an important role in the identification andtaxonomy of fungi.
Fruitbodies are termedepigeous if they grow on the ground, while those that grow underground arehypogeous. Epigeous sporocarps that are visible to the naked eye, especially fruitbodies of a more or lessagaricoid morphology, are often calledmushrooms. Epigeous sporocarps have mycelia that extend underground far beyond the mother sporocarp. There is a wider distribution of mycelia underground than sporocarps above ground.[2] Hypogeous fungi are usually calledtruffles orfalse truffles. There is evidence that hypogeous fungi evolved from epigeous fungi.[3] During theirevolution, truffles lost the ability to disperse their spores by air currents, and propagate instead by animalconsumption and subsequent defecation.
In amateurmushroom hunting, and to a large degree in academicmycology as well, identification ofhigher fungi is based on the features of the sporocarp.[4]
The largest known fruitbody is a specimen ofPhellinus ellipsoideus (formerlyFomitiporia ellipsoidea) found onHainan Island, part ofChina. It measures up to 10.85 metres (35+1⁄2 feet) in length and is estimated to weigh between 450 and 760 kilograms (990 and 1,680 pounds).[5][6]
A wide variety of animals feed on epigeous and hypogeous fungi. The mammals that feed on fungi are as diverse as fungi themselves and are called mycophages.Squirrels andchipmunks eat the greatest variety of fungi, but there are many other mammals that also forage on fungi, such asmarsupials,mice,rats,voles,lemmings,deer,shrews,rabbits,weasels, and more.[7][8][9][10] Some animals feed on fungi opportunistically, while others rely on them as a primary source of food. Hypogeous sporocarps are a highly nutritious primary food source for some small mammals like theTasmanian bettong. Evidence of this is that the composition of fungi in the diet of Tasmanian bettong was positively correlated with body condition and growth rates of pouch young.[11] Ectomycorrhizal or hypogeous fungi form a symbiotic relationship with smallmycophagous mammals. Hypogeous sporocarps depend on small fungivorous mammals todisperse their spores since they are underground and cannot utilize wind dispersal like epigeous sporocarps.[12]
Underground fungi also play a role in a three-way symbiotic relationship with small marsupials andAustralianEucalyptus forests. InEucalyptus forests, hypogeous sporocarp dispersal is positively affected by fires. After a fire, most if not all epigeous sporocarps are wiped out, leaving hypogeous sporocarps to be the primary source of fungi for small marsupials.[13] The ability of hypogeous fungi to resist disasters, such as fire, could be due to their evolved ability to survive the digestive systems of animals in order to distribute. Sporocarps can also serve as a food source for other fungi.
Sporocarps can be hosts to diverse communities offungicolous fungi. Short-lived sporocarps are more often hosts to fungicolous fungi than are long-lived sporocarps, which may have evolved more investment in defense mechanisms and tend to have less water content than their short-lived counterparts.[1]Resupinate sporocarps, sporocarps that have a higher surface area to volume ratio, are hosts to a higher diversity of fungicolous fungi thanpileate sporocarps are.[1]
Sporocarps of some fungal species have been observed to mark gravesites and sites ofcorpse decomposition.[14]
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