Classification of fungi

In this new blog, we'll discuss the identification of fungi based on their characteristics within the diverse world of the Fungi Kingdom. It's necessary to classify species within this universe due to its vast size, and also because evolutionary relationships within the Kingdom must be analyzed. This also helps to understand how fungi relate within a single genus or category.

In practice, it can help you recognize mushrooms when you see them, perceive their main characteristics, and going a little further, we will be able to know when to use them for our benefit, for example, in our diet, as in the case of the three mushrooms we have in our Fungeat coffee, which are Lion's Mane, Shiitake, and Maitake.

The basic unit of biological classification for fungi is the species. This is structured as follows: a genus name and an epithet. The latter refers to a more specific adjective within the genus that distinguishes the fungus from another.

In classification, we have certain hierarchies that define a particular species. This hierarchy consists of the following elements:

1. Kingdom
2. Edge
3. Classes
4. Order
5. Family
6. Gender
7. Specific epithet

Within the taxonomy of species, species can be interpolated using prefixes such as subclass, for those species located between the class and the order, and on the other hand, the prefix superclass is used, which places species between the class and the kingdom. Knowing this, you will understand that each species belongs to a very specific category. For example, the famous mushroom named Amanita muscaria belongs to the Amanistaceae family, of the Agaricales order, within the Agaricomycetes class of the Basidiomycota phylum (the well-known basidiomycetes) and, of course, of the Fungi kingdom.

Now, let's explain a little about the differentiation between these hierarchies. A particular genus determines that there is a certain kinship compared to another species of the same mushroom genus; therefore, they share a common ancestor. Therefore, there are similarities in a common ancestor between species of the same genus, unlike those within a family. Thus, this common ancestor becomes more distant as we speak of a higher category between species, such as an order, then a class, and so on.

A common way to classify fungi has been through their visible characteristics, such as shape, size, and color. In practice, genera, families, or other hierarchies are discarded when certain specific characteristics are present. For example, if you see a mushroom with a fruiting body of a similar shape and size but a different color than one you know, you can assume it's the same genus, or you rule out the possibility that it belongs to other genera with different shapes or sizes of pileus or stipe. However, we now have more tools to characterize each species and give them a more accurate classification. We can now access genetic, chemical, and ecological information, which will lead to their identification and, therefore, to an understanding of their evolutionary characteristics. It should be noted that even with this knowledge, a specific classification may not be trivial, given that fungi can share genetic information but be quite different in specific functions, making it difficult to discern.

This demonstrates the complexity of this kingdom, where species are still being discovered, which provides us with vital functions in nature, as well as delight in its varied shapes and colors and, as we already know, health benefits. At Fungeat, we use some mushrooms from this immense kingdom in our coffee, which have incredible benefits that you can see in previous blog posts. See you next time!