Dispersal in fungi

Abstract

Dispersal is important for a fungus, as it is for any organism, in order to maintain the species in its existing range and perhaps to extend that range, and also to spread genetic variability, as it arises, throughout the population. In fungi the feeding mycelium is usually concealed in the nutrient substratum and what we normally see are the structures concerned with the production and liberation of spores which are the dispersive units. In most fungi spores are wind-borne. In aerial dispersal, as with aircraft, three episodes can usually be recognized: spore release (take-off); actual dispersal (flight); and deposition (landing).