Peziza, which has 50 widely distributed species, forms a cup-shaped fruit body or mushroom-like structure on decaying wood or manure in the summer. Pyronema and Anthracobia, two genera of the order that develop on burned wood or steam-heated soil, are commonly termed fire fungi.
Peziza undergoes both asexual and sexual reproduction. Asexual reproduction, which is rare and uses conidia, occurs only when ascospores form.
Mycelium typically develops in decaying wood or soils rich in organic materials. Mycelia filaments branch widely and are split into uninucleate cells by septa.
Table of Contents
Classification of Peziza
|
Kingdom |
Fungi |
|---|---|
|
Division |
Ascomycota |
|
Class |
Pezizomycetes |
|
Order |
Pezizales |
|
Family |
Pezizaceae |
|
Genus |
Peziza |
Life Cycle of Peziza
Peziza Mycelium:
It features a dense network of hyphae and is well-developed, usually perennial. The hyphae are septate and branched. The cells are uninucleate.
The hyphae create a complex network that draws nutrition from the substrate. Fruiting bodies are located on the surface.
Asexual Reproduction:
Conidia and chlamydospores are formed as a result of asexual reproduction. Conidia are spores produced exogenously. They are confined to the conidiophore tips. Every conidium produces a new mycelium after it germinates.
The chlamydospores are resting cells with thick walls, positioned intercalarily. They can develop either individually or in groups within the hyphae’s cells. Each chlamydospore germinates and produces a fresh mycelium in favourable circumstances.
Sexual Reproduction
The sexual organs are completely absent in Peziza vesiculosa. This does not stop the growth of a fructification, an aerial and generally transient structure. The sexual process is simple and consists of pairing up two vegetative nuclei.
Hyphae are arranged in a tangled mass within the adult mycelium. The apothecium, a prominent fruiting body that occurs during sexual reproduction, emerges from the mycelium.
A vertical slice across the apothecium reveals that the hymenium, a sheet of elongated cells resting at a right angle to the top like a palisade, comprises the upper surface. It is composed of asci combined with paraphyses, which support and protect filamentous hyphae.
The hypothecium, a thin or slightly thick layer that runs parallel to the surface of the hymenium, is located directly beneath the hymenium. The basal part of the cup is called the excipulum.
As a result, a binucleate cell is formed when one cell’s nucleus migrates into the other’s nucleus. Numerous ascogenous hyphae are produced by such binucleate cells.
The ascus develops due to the ascogenous hypha’s terminal cell elongating and bending over to form a crozier. Each ascus produces eight haploid ascospores.
The ascospores are hyaline, unicellular, and oval when fully formed. Each ascus explodes at a ‘lid’ when it reaches maturity, releasing the spores in a liquid stream. Eventually, each spore develops a new mycelium when favourable conditions are present.
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