Epigeous and Hypogeous Pezizales of Western North America

真羊肚菌和假羊肚菌以及相关的杯状真菌，通常 在地上形成产孢子的结构， 地下产孢，是子囊菌纲真菌， 帕齐萨莱斯 它们只是在进化上与 伞菌目，担子菌纲的真正蘑菇。 真正的羊肚菌和松露是最渴望得到的， 昂贵的可食用野生"蘑菇。"南希·韦伯博士和她的 俄勒冈州州立大学的同事们正在研究这种模式 的形态变异和地理分布 一群真菌，遍布美国西部， 群体中的高度多样性。 新鲜采集的研究 标本将补充博物馆保存的样本的研究， 为了确定物种的环境和描述可靠的 形态特征进行识别。 目前还 没有全面的分类处理这一重要群体的 北美的真菌 除了作为美食的重要性， 盘菌目在森林生态系统中起着重要作用。 一些 是松鼠鹿和其他动物的重要食物 有些是森林树木的菌根共生体。 在没有 合适的菌根真菌，树木吸收土壤养分 而且很少能存活超过一年左右。 一些盘菌是腐生物，回收森林残骸。 和一些 是在火灾或其他环境中最先形成孢子的真菌之一 扰动 对西部生态动力学的认识 森林在一定程度上取决于这些准确识别 森林树木的菌根伙伴，这将有助于 基础分类学研究

True and false morels and allied cup-fungi, which generally form spore-producing structures aboveground, and truffles, which sporulate belowground, are Ascomycete fungi placed in the class Pezizales. They are only distantly related evolutionarily to true mushrooms of the order Agaricales, class Basidiomycetes. True morels and truffles are among the most avidly sought, and expensive, edible wild "mushrooms." Dr. Nancy Weber and her colleagues at Oregon State University are studying the patterns of morphological variation and geographical distribution in this group of fungi throughout the western United States, an area of high diversity in the group. Studies of freshly collected specimens will complement studies of museum-preserved samples, in order to determine species circumscriptions and describe reliable morphological features for identification. At present there is no comprehensive taxonomic treatment of this important group of fungi for North America. In addition to their importance as gourmet foods, members of the order Pezizales play key roles in forest ecosystems. Some are important as food for squirrels, deer, and other animals. Some are mycorrhizal symbionts of forest trees. In the absence of appropriate mycorrhizal fungi, trees take up soil nutrients inefficiently and rarely survive for more than a year or so. Some Pezizales are saprobes, recycling forest debris. And some are among the first fungi to sporulate following a fire or other disturbance. Understanding of the ecological dynamics of western forests depends in part on accurate identification of these mycorrhizal partners of forest trees, to be facilitated by this basic taxonomic study.