🐙 Cell & Organismal Biology
Bonnet Mold
Bonnet mold (Spinellus fusiger) is a pin-like mold that grows on the caps of bonnet mushrooms (Mycena) in woodlands, covering them with long, hair-like stalks. It is a parasite of other fungi.
Bonnet mold (Spinellus fusiger) is a pin-like mold that grows on the caps of bonnet mushrooms (Mycena) in woodlands, covering them with long, hair-like stalks. It is a parasite of other fungi.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Bonnet 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.
A Fungus on a Fungus
The mold attaches to the cap of its host and draws nutrients from it. Tall, slender stalks, each topped by a tiny round sporangium, make the mushroom look as though it is wearing a fur coat.
Relatives of Pinmold
Bonnet mold belongs to the Mucorales. See Common Pinmold.
Mycoparasites
Fungi that parasitize other fungi are called mycoparasites. Some are used in biological control of crop diseases.
Bonnet Mold at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Spinellus fusiger |
| Kingdom | Fungi |
| Phylum | Mucoromycota |
| Class | Mucoromycetes |
| Order | Mucorales |
| Family | Phycomycetaceae |
| Field Guide group | Opisthokonta: Fungi (True Fungi & Lichens) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Mycoparasitic pin-like fungus that erupts radially from the caps of bonnet mushrooms (Mycena) as stiff, silvery stalks topped with spherical dark-black spore heads. |
| Order | Mucorales |
| Host | Mycena mushrooms |
See Also
- Common Pinmold — a pin mold
- Zombie Ant Fungus — another parasitic fungus
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