The joy of fungi

Tom Volk's Fungus of the Month pages, in alphabetical order

Alternatively, you can see the Fungus of the Month pages listed chronologically since January 1997

For the rest of my pages on fungi, please click http://TomVolkFungi.net

Do not bookmark this page, as the URL will change periodically

  • Aug. 2002 Agaricus augustus, the Prince-- and quite an august mushroom
  • Apr. 2001 Agaricus bisporus, the white button mushroom, pizza mushroom, portabella, or crimini. with co-author Kelly Ivors.
  • Apr. 2006 Aleurodiscus oakesii, the oak parchment, cause of "smooth patch disease"
  • May 2000 Agrocybe praecox, a common spring inhabitant of wood chips.
  • Sep. 1997 The death angel, Amanita bisporigera, Amanita virosa, and Amanita verna.
  • Aug. 2007 Amanita marmorata subspecies myrtacearum, a Hawaiian mushroom in honor of Dr. Orson K. Miller, Jr., in honor of the 2007 North American Mycological Association Orson K. Miller Jr. NAMA foray in Pipestem, West Virginia, August 16-19, 2007.
  • Dec. 1999 Amanita muscaria, the fly agaric -- a hallucinogenic and poisonous mushroom.
  • Apr. 2002 Armillaria gallica, the Humongous Fungus.
  • Feb. 1999 Armillaria nabsnona, honey mushroom number nine. Or you can jump right to this page, which is an online version of the original paper by Volk, Burdsall, and Banik describing this species.
  • Sep. 2008 Armillaria solidipes, an older name for Armillaria ostoyae, North American Biological Species I, NABS I, with co-author Hal Burdsall.
  • Feb. 1997 Aspergillus, a deuteromycete useful in industrial mycology-- and also a human pathogen.
  • Dec. 2005 Asterophora lycoperdoides, the star bearing powder cap mushroom. With co-author Jon Palmer. This marks nine years of Fungus of the month pages!
  • Dec. 2003 Astraeus hygrometricus, an earthstar. Warning-- there's a 1 megabyte animated GIF file that will automatically download. Here is an alternate page without that file.
  • Apr. 2004 Auricularia auricula-judae, Judas' ear fungus, in honor of Easter.
  • Jan. 2001 Blastomyces dermatitidis, cause of Blastomycosis in humans and other animals.
  • Apr. 2007 Blastomyces dermatitidis, cause of Blastomycosis-- a special paper from my lab. PCR based detection of its DNA from natural soil samples.
  • Aug 2004 Boletus barrowsii, Chuck Barrows' bolete, with a celebration of amateur mycology in North America.
  • Sep. 1998 Boletus edulis, the king bolete, steinpilz, cép, or porcino (plural porcini).
  • Jun. 1997 Bridgeoporus nobilissimus, the giant, rare, and endangered polypore of the Pacific Northwest. Or you can jump right to this page, which is a reprint of a paper by Burdsall, Volk, and Ammirati called "Bridgeoporus, a new genus to accommodate Oxyporus nobilissimus."
  • Aug. 1998 Calvatia gigantea, the giant puffball. .
  • Jan. 1999 Candida albicans, cause of most yeast infections in humans.
  • Jan. 2006 Candida krusei, Geotrichum, and Acaulospora scrobiculata, a trio of fungi needed for making chocolate for Valentine's day
  • Jul. 1997 Cantharellus cibarius, the chanterelle.
  • Jan. 2004 Caulorhiza umbonata, the rooting redwood mushroom.
  • July 2008 Chlorociboria aeruginascens, the green stain fungus, with co-author Jessie Glaeser.
  • July 2002 Cladonia cristatella, the British Soldier Lichen
  • Dec. 2000 Cladonia rangifera, one of the reindeer lichens
  • Oct. 1999 Claviceps purpurea, cause of the plant disease ergot and likely factor in the Salem Witch Trials
  • June 2001 Clavicorona pyxidata, the crown-tipped coral fungus.
  • Nov. 1998 Clitocybe nuda, the wood blewit.
  • Aug. 1999 Chlorophyllum molybdites, the green spored Lepiota, the most common cause of mushroom poisoning in North America
  • Feb. 2001. Climacodon septentrionale, the northern tooth fungus. It's my 50th Fungus of the Month!
  • Jan. 2002 Coccidioides immitis, cause of the nasty fungal disease coccidioidomycosis, aka Valley Fever
  • Jun. 2004Collybia tuberosa, the mushroom-loving Collybia. It's my 90th Fungus of the Month!
  • May 2004. Coprinus comatus, the shaggy mane or lawyer's wig. One of Clyde Christensen's "Foolproof four."
  • Jan. 1998 Cordyceps ophioglossoides, a pathogen of an underground fungus
  • Jun. 2006 Cordyceps subsessilis, aka Tolypocladium inflatum, source of the immunosuppressive drug Cyclosporine, used for transplant patients like me to avoid rejection of the new organ. written by guest author Kathie Hodge.
  • Sep. 1999 Cortinarius semisanguineus, a beautiful mycorrhizal mushroom used for dyeing wool.
  • Jul. 1998 Craterellus fallax, the black trumpet chanterelle
  • Jan. 2008 Craterellus tubaeformis---- Tubies, in honor of mushroom forays and fairs in California.
  • Jul. 2007 Crepidotus crocophyllus, the orange crep, with co-author Jon Palmer
  • May 1998 Cryphonectria parasitica, causal agent of chestnut blight.
  • Dec. 2006 Cryptothecia rubrocincta, the Christmas lichen
  • May 2006. Cyathus striatus, one of the bird's nest fungi.
  • Dec. 2004. Daldina concentrica, the coal fungus, carbon balls, cramp balls, King Alfred's cakes.
  • Feb. 2005. This month's fungi are molds (deuteromycetes) that are found on money! This group of fungi is dedicated to President's Day. with co-author Jon Palmer
  • Jul. 1999 Dictyophora duplicata, the netted stinkhorn. Click here if you have something that looks like an upside down carrot" or "part of a male dog's anatomy" growing in your bark mulch. (I get at least 5 emails per month on this in the summer). Then scroll down to the bottom of the page.
  • May 2008 Disciotis venosa, the veined cup fungus and a relative of the morel.
  • Apr. 2003 It's a mycological Easter egg hunt!
  • Sep. 2006 Entoloma abortivum, the Aborting Entoloma, a.k.a. Hunter's Heart, Totlcoxcatl, or "ground prunes"
  • Mar. 2000 Entomophthora muscae, a fungus that infects houseflies.
  • Feb. 1998 Epidermophyton floccosum, one of the causes of athlete's foot.
  • June 2005 Faerie cups, various Ascomycota species such as Microstoma floccosum, Aleuria aurantia, Sarcoscypha occidentalis, Geopyxis carbonaria, in honor of the summer solstice. With co-author Rebecca Curland
  • Jan. 2009 Filoboletus manipularis, a poroid mushroom from the tropics
  • Mar. 1997 Flammulina velutipes, the velvet stem, or enokitake.
  • Dec. 2001 Fomes fomentarius, the tinder polypore.
  • Jun. 1999 Fuligo septica, the dog vomit slime mold.
  • May 2003 Galerina autumnalis, the deadly Galerina.
  • Mar. 1999 Ganoderma applanatum, the artist's conk.
  • Mar. 2005 Ganoderma lucidum, Reishi or Ling Zhi, is a fungus used in oriental medicine. It seems to cure everything! with co-author Kathleen Engelbrecht
  • Sep. 2003 Gastrocybe lateritia, the bean sprout mushroom. with co-author Heather Hallen.
  • May 2009 Geomyces destructans, a fungus associated with bat White-Nose Syndrome (WNS). with co-authors David Blehert, Andrea Gargas, Marie Trest, and Martha Christensen.
  • Aug. 2005 Gibberella zeae or Fusarium graminearum, head blight of wheat
  • Nov. 2006 Grifola frondosa, the hen of the woods, sheepshead or maitake
  • May 1999 Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae, cause of cedar-apple rust.
  • May 2002 Gyromitra esculenta, one of the false morels.
  • Jul. 2003 Gyroporus cyanescens, the blueing bolete. Warning: there's a 1 megabyte MP4 movie that will automatically load when you go to this page. If you have a slow connection, you might want to try this alternate page without the video.
  • Apr. 2005 Gymnopilus spectabilis, waraitake, big laughing Gym, a hallucinogenic mushroom. with co-author Kelsea Jewell. It's my 100th FotM!
  • Oct. 2003 Hemitrichia serpula, the pretzel slime mold, in honor of Oktoberfest
  • Jan. 2003 Hericium americanum, the pom pon mushroom, a.k.a. the bear's head tooth fungus, monkey head, or for this month, the icicle mushroom. with co-author Sean Westmoreland.
  • Jan. 2000 Histoplasma capsulatum, cause of a lung disease called Histoplasmosis. Bob Dylan had this disease in 1997.
  • Aug. 2000 Hohenbuehelia petaloides, a fungus that eats nematodes.
  • Aug. 2003. Hydnellum caeruleum, the blue and orange Hydnellum. with co-author Sean Westmoreland.
  • Oct. 2004 Hydnum umbilicatum, the sweet tooth mushroom -- special for Halloween
  • Oct. 2001 Hygrocybe conica, the witch's hat mushroom.
  • Aug. 2001 Hypomyces lactifluorum, the lobster mushroom.
  • Aug. 2001 Laccaria bicolor, a mutualistic fungus and pioneer in genome sequencing. With co-author Todd Osmundson.
  • Jun. 2000 Lactarius indigo, the indigo milk mushroom.
  • Oct. 2005 Lactarius rubidus, candy caps.
  • Jul. 2001 Laetiporus cincinnatus, the white-pored chicken-of-the-woods
  • Sep. 2001 Leucopholiota decorosa, the decorated white pholiota
  • Nov. 2001 Lycoperdon pyriforme, the pear-shaped wolf-fart puffball
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  • Mar. 2002 Marasmius oreades, the fairy ring mushroom, special for St. Patrick's Day. It's magically delicious!
  • Oct. 2002 Monotropa uniflora, the ghost plant, aka Indian Pipe (just an honorary fungus)
  • Apr. 1997 It's the morel! Morchella species, including Morchella esculenta.
  • Oct. 2006 Mutinus caninus, the dog stinkhorn, in honor of Dogtoberfest.
  • June 2002 Mycena haematopus, the blood-foot mushroom.
  • Sep. 2005 Mycena leaiana, the bright orange Mycena.
  • Oct. 1997 The Jack-O-Lantern Mushroom, Omphalotus olearius.
  • Jan. 2005. Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, a human pathogen causing paracoccidioidomycosis, aka South American Blastomycosis. with co-author Travis Mossman.
  • Jul. 2006. Paragyrodon sphaerosporus, the leathery-veiled bolete, an unusual fungus that we found at the NAMA foray in La Crosse in 2005.
  • Nov. 2003 Penicillium chrysogenum (=P. notatum), the source for penicillin-- making it possible to have more veterans for Veteran's Day.
  • May 1997 Phanerochaete chrysosporium, a corticioid (crust) fungus useful in biopulping and bioremediation.
  • Nov. 2007 Phaeolus schweinitzii, the dye polypore or velvet top, with coauthors Debby Hanmer and her Mycology class from fall 2007 at the University of North Carolina Pembroke.
  • Feb. 2007 Phanerochaete chrysosporium a crust fungus that can degrade phenolic resin plastics!
  • Nov. 2005 Phellinus igniarius, the flesh-flecked polypore, used by Native Americans, espceially Alaskans, as Iqmik.with co-author Diane Pleninger.
  • Feb. 2004 Phellinus tremulae, one of the causes of heartrot, in "honor" of Valentine's Day.
  • Jul. 2000 A patriotic trio of corticioid (crust) fungi: Phlebia coccineofulva, Hyphoderma puberum, Pulcherricium caeruleum
  • Mar. 2001 Phytophthora infestans, cause of late blight of potato and the Irish potato famine. Warning: there's a 232 kilobyte 15-second QuickTime video that will load automatically if you have the right plugins for your browser. If you have a slow connection this may take a while to download. Here's an alternate page without the video.
  • Mar. 2006 Pilobolus crystallinus, the "Fung in the Dung," in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday
  • Jun. 2003 Pisolithus tinctorius, the dog turd fungus, or dyemaker's puffball.
  • Oct. 1998 Pleurotus ostreatus, the oyster mushroom.
  • Jun. 1998 Pluteus cervinus, the deer mushroom.
  • Nov. 1997 Powdery Mildews, plant parasites.
  • Apr. 2008 Profollias downhoki, a recently discovered organism that is the missing link between fungi and plants!
  • June 2008 Three fungi from students in my Organismal Biology Class: Psilocybe cubensis, the hallucinogenic cow patty mushroom, Penicillium chrysogenum, source of penicillin. Aspergillus fumigatus, cause of Aspergillosis.
  • Oct. 2007 Rhytisma acerinum and Rhytisma punctatum, two causes of Tar Spot of maple. with co-author Heather Hallen Adams
  • Nov. 1999 Rozites caperata, the gypsy mushroom, reported to have antiviral properties.
  • Sep. 2004 Russula emetica, the vomiting Russula
  • Dec. 2002 Saccharomyces cerevisiae, bakers' and brewers' yeast. with co-author Anne Galbraith
  • Apr. 1998 Sarcoscypha coccinea, the scarlet cup fungus.
  • Feb. 2000 Schizophyllum commune, one of the world's most widespread fungi, and possessor of more than 28,000 different sexes. This page also includes an explanation of sex and mating types in fungi.
  • Sep. 2007 Scorias spongiosa, the beech aphid poop-eater. with co-author Hannah Reynolds
  • Apr. 1999 Scutellinia scutellata, the eyelash cup fungus.
  • Dec. 2007 is Sistotrema confluens, an odd tooth fungus in honor of the tercentennary of the birth of Carolus Linnaeus, the father of modern taxonomy. with co-author Andrus Voitk.
  • Mar. 2007 Sordaria fimicola, a fungus used in genetics.
  • Oct. 2008 Sparassis crispa, the cauliflower mushroom, a.k.a. the noodle mushroom.
  • July 2005 Sphaerobolus stellatus, the cannonball fungus, in honor of "the rockets' red glare." with co-author Laurie Leonard.
  • Mar. 2004 Spinellus fusiger, in honor of Albert Einstein's 125th birthday. with co-author Adam Gusse.
  • Feb. 2003 Sporothrix schenckii, cause of Rose-picker's Disease
  • Nov. 2002 Stachybotrys chartarum, an alleged cause of "sick building syndrome." with co-author Nik Zitomer.
  • Nov. 2000 Stereum ostrea, the false turkey tail
  • Jul. 2004 Suillus americanus, the chicken fat mushroom. The "americanus" part celebrates America on her birthday- and the page may bring back memories of a loved (or hated) childhood song.
  • Jan.2007 Terfezia and Tirmania, Desert Truffles (terfez, kama, p/faqa). with co-author Elinoar Shavit.
  • Aug.1997 Trametes versicolor, the turkey tail fungus.
  • Jan. 2006 Tremella fuciformis, the snow fungus, an edible jelly fungus, a.k.a .the silver ear fungus, the snow ear fungus or simply the white jelly fungus
  • Oct. 2000 Tremella mesenterica, witch's butter.
  • Nov. 2004 Trichoderma viride, the the dark green parasitic mold and maker of fungal-digested jeans.
  • Sep. 2000 Tricholoma magnivelare, the American matsutake mushroom
  • Jan. 1997 Tuber gibbosum, the Oregon white truffle.
  • May 2005 Urnula craterium, the black tulip fungus.
  • Mar. 1998 Ustilago maydis, corn smut or huitlacoche -- that's right it's "Smuts on the Internet."
  • Sep. 2002 Venturia inaequalis, cause of apple scab.
  • Aug. 2002 Xeromphalina kauffmanii, the cross-veined troop mushroom.
  • Apr. 2000 Xylaria polymorpha, dead man's fingers.