Kingdom Fungi Order Agaricales Higher classification Agaricales | Division Basidiomycota Scientific name Pleurotaceae Rank Family | |
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Lower classifications Pleurotus, Oyster Mushroom, Pleurotus eryngii, Hohenbuehelia, Nematoctonus | ||
The Pleurotaceae are a family of small to medium-sized mushrooms which have white spores. The family contains four genera (Nematoctonus has been synonymized with Hohenbuehlia, but not all of its species have been moved to valid genera) and 94 species. Members of Pleurotaceae can be mistaken for members of Marasmiaceae. Perhaps the best known member is the oyster mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus.
Many species in the genera Pleurotus and Hohenbuehelia are nematophagous, that is, they derive nutrition by consuming nematodes. This is made possible by hyphae that may have adhesive knobs that attach to passing nematodes and secrete nematotoxic compounds.
References
Pleurotaceae Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA