Classification of Fungi for Fungus Fair 2001

For example, it will be easy to see that all of the family Boletaceae have pores Instead of gills (except Phylloporus). By doing this both the set­ up crew and visitors to the Fair will be able to see similar and differentiating characteristics between related genera.

Why is this important? In most dichotomous keys (like those used in Arora) differentiation between species really begins at higher taxonomic levels than genus; family being the next level up. We decided that by grouping the fungi this way the display is more of a learning tool than a simple presentation of fungi in alphabetical order. There will be handouts at the Fair to help you locate the mushrooms.

There will be a "Master" tree starting at Kingdom Fungi and working down the branches to family. Starting at the family level charts for each family will show the arrangement of the genera and species within that family.

A simplified example of the tree is shown below. Starting at Kingdom Fungi we proceed down the ladder and at each level there are single to multiple branching until we reach species level.