Wood-decaying basidiomycetes and their Fungal Parasites in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

We plan to collect and identify particular groups of fungi growing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. These fungi represent basidiomycetes that mostly grow on dead trees and are responsible for the decay of wood in the forest ecosystem. Some taxa inhabit living trees, causing different diseases. Another study group includes ascomycetes that grow as parasites on macrofungi. Collecting in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is part of worldwide sampling for completing monographic studies on the taxonomy, ecology and distribution of these fungal groups.