Black Bread Mold
Black bread mold (Rhizopus stolonifer) is a fast-growing fungus that spreads in fuzzy white mats and turns dark as its spore sacs mature. It is a common spoiler of bread, fruit and vegetables.
Black bread mold (Rhizopus stolonifer) is a fast-growing fungus that spreads in fuzzy white mats and turns dark as its spore sacs mature. It is a common spoiler of bread, fruit and vegetables.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Black Bread Mold in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Opisthokonta lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
Stolons, Rhizoids and Sporangia
The fungus spreads by horizontal hyphae (stolons) that arch over the surface and anchor with root-like rhizoids. Upright stalks carry black sporangia, each holding thousands of spores released into the air. The hyphae are coenocytic, with many nuclei and few cross walls.
Sex Between Strains
When two compatible mating types meet, they form a thick-walled zygospore that can resist harsh conditions. Rhizopus belongs to the Mucorales, once grouped as "zygomycetes".
Food and Disease
Some Rhizopus species ferment soybeans to make tempeh. Related Mucorales can cause mucormycosis, a rare but serious infection in people with weakened immunity or uncontrolled diabetes.
Black Bread Mold at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Rhizopus stolonifer |
| Kingdom | Fungi |
| Phylum | Mucoromycota |
| Class | Mucoromycetes |
| Order | Mucorales |
| Family | Rhizopodaceae |
| Field Guide group | Opisthokonta: Fungi (True Fungi & Lichens) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Cottony white mycelium topped with black spherical sporangia, root-like rhizoids, and horizontal arching stolons. |
| Order | Mucorales |
| Hyphae | Coenocytic |
See Also
- Common Pinmold — a close relative
- Immunology — opportunistic infection