Course description

Responsibleteacher (e-mail): Dr. Kutszegi Gergely József ([Click to see email])

Specialization: zoologist

The course provides an insight into the morphological characters, typical habitats, and identification difficulties of the most common 150 European edible or poisonous macrofungal (mushroom) species. The nutritional value and types of poisoning they cause are also discussed. Of these 150 species, 92 are compulsory; students should be able to identify them. A total of 11 fungal poisonings are detailed with symptoms and therapy.

Literature

Mandatory: The slideshows (available from Moodle).

Recommended: 

For the practical part

Any handbooks, with coloured photographs, for field identification of macrofungi, such as:

Læssøe, T., Lincoff, G. 2002. Mushrooms, 2nd Ed. Smithsonian Handbooks, DK ADULT, 304 pp.

Læssøe, T., Petersen, J. H. 2019. Fungi of Temperate Europe, Vol 1–2. Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1715 pp.

For the theoretical part

Webster, J., Weber, R. 2007. Introduction to Fungi, 3rd Ed. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 841 pp.

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Lectures theme

Week
1	The course starts in the second week.
2	Fungal structures, life strategies, and roles in the biosphere; morphological characteristics for identification
3	Nutritional value and chemical composition of macrofungi: poisonous and medicinal species. What to do when mushroom poisoning (a mycetism) is suspected?
4	Wood-inhabiting macrofungi: polypores of high nutritional or silvicultural importance. Edible and poisonous ascomycetes; the Gyromitra syndrome. Chanterelles, clavarioids, hydnoids, and rosette fungi
5	Edible and poisonous species of family Boletaceae (boletes) and Paxillaceae; the Paxillus syndrome
6	Edible and poisonous species of family Hygrophoraceae, Pluteaceae, Entolomataceae, Gomphidiaceae, and Pleurotaceae; the gastrointestinal syndrome
7	Tricholomatoids (family Tricholomataceae) and the like I.: edible and poisonous species from genera Clitocybe, Lepista, Tricholoma, and Calocybe; the muscarinic syndrome and rhabdomyolysis
8	Tricholomatoids II.: edible and poisonous species from genera Gymnopus, Flammulina, Marasmius, Mycena, Laccaria, Omphalotus, and Armillaria; poisoning from eating raw mushrooms
9	Edible and poisonous species of amanitas (family Amanitaceae), coprinoids and psathyrelloids (family Coprinaceae and Psathyrellaceae); the Coprinus syndrome, the pantherina syndrome, and the phalloides syndrome
10	Members of family (Agaricaceae): agarics with free, dark gills (genus Agaricus) or with whitish spore-deposits (lepiotoids)
11	The most important hypholomatoids (family Strophariaceae), the genus Inocybe, and members of family Cortinariaceae; the orellanus syndrome
12	Edible and poisonous species of family Russulaceae
13	Edibility of gasteromycetes: puffballs (genus Lycoperdon and Calvatia), earthstars (genus Geastrum), and stinkhorns (genus Phallus)
14	Consultation

Evaluation description

The course is completed with an oral exam. Students have to take an exam topic from both the topic lists of the theoretical and the practical part of the course. The exam is successful if the student passes both topics. The theoretical topics cover the general environmental requirements, life strategies, identification difficulties, as well as the symptoms and potential treatments of discussed human mycetisms (mushroom poisonings). During the practical exam, students receive lyophilized fruiting bodies of five (compulsory) macrofungal species to identify. At least three of the five species must be identified and named in Latin successfully to pass. Students should also be able to choose the sporocarps of certain species from a mixture of sporocarps belonging to several different fungal species. The greater emphasis is on the practical (species recognition) part.

Exam information

Oral exam.

The course is completed with an oral exam. Students have to take an exam topic from both the topic lists of the theoretical and the practical part of the course. The exam is successful if the student passes both topics. The theoretical topics cover the general environmental requirements, life strategies, identification difficulties, as well as the symptoms and potential treatments of discussed human mycetisms (mushroom poisonings). During the practical exam, students receive lyophilized fruiting bodies of five (compulsory) macrofungal species to identify. At least three of the five species must be identified and named in Latin successfully to pass. Students should also be able to choose the sporocarps of certain species from a mixture of sporocarps belonging to several different fungal species. The greater emphasis is on the practical (species recognition) part.

 

EXAM TOPICS

A. Practical Section

1. The most important groups of macrofungal Ascomycetes: description of the studied edible and poisonous species
2. Description of chanterelles, clavarioids, hydnoids, and rosette fungi; identification of studied species
3. Identification and characterization of the studied wood-inhabiting polypore species
4. Studied edible and poisonous species from the family Boletaceae (boletes)
5. Description of the families Paxillaceae, Gomphidiaceae, and Pleurotaceae
6. Description of the families Hygrophoraceae, Entolomataceae, and Pluteaceae
7. Description of genera Clitocybe, Lepista, Tricholoma, and Calocybe (Tricholomataceae and Lyophyllaceae): studied edible and poisonous species
8. Studied edible and poisonous species from the genera Armillaria, Gymnopus, Flammulina, Marasmius, and Mycena
9. Characterization of family Amanitaceae description and identification of the studied species
10. Description of the family Agaricaceae: identification of its studied edible and poisonous species
11. Description of the families Coprinaceae and Psathyrellaceae: identification of related species
12. Characterization of family Strophariaceae: description of studied species
13. Description of the genus Cortinarius
14. Studied edible and poisonous species of the genus Russula
15. Studied edible and poisonous species of the genus Lactarius
16. Description and identification of gasteromycetes (Geastraceae, Lycoperdaceae, Phallaceae, and Sclerodermataceae)

B. Theoretical Section

1. General structure (anatomy) of fungi and their functioning in the biosphere
2. Fungal organic and inorganic components: their nutritional value
3. Morphological features for the identification of pileate fungi
4. Types of fruiting bodies and hymenia (with example species)
5. Main lifestyles and functional groups of fungi: saprotrophic and parasitic fungi
6. Main lifestyles and functional groups of fungi: mycorrhizal fungi
7. Description of the phalloides syndrome (death cap poisoning): clinical signs, toxins, treatment, related species
8. The muscarinic syndrome: clinical signs, toxins, treatment, related species
9. The pantherina syndrome: clinical signs, toxins, treatment, related species
10. The orellanus syndrome: clinical signs, toxins, treatment, related species
11. The gyromitra syndrome: clinical signs, toxins, treatment, related species
12. Mushroom poisonings causing hallucinations: clinical signs, toxins, related species, treatment
13. The gastrointestinal syndrome of fungal origin: clinical signs, toxins, treatment, related species
14. The paxillus syndrome: clinical signs, toxins, treatment, related species
15. The coprinus syndrome: clinical signs, toxins, treatment, related species
16. Other human health hazards associated with mushroom consumption: consumption of raw, old or frozen mushrooms

 

Update:2024.09.05.