1. Division Zygomycota: These are mostly terrestrial fungi that live in soil or on decaying plant or animal material. Their hyphae are coenocytic, with many haploid nuclei. Asexual spores, usually wind swept, are produced by structures called sporangia, at the tips of aerial hyphae. Sexual reproduction involves the formation of resistant bodies called zygosporangia that can remain dormant when the environment is too harsh for growth. Examples are black bread mold ( Rhizopus stolonifer).
Division Ascomycota: These are sac fungi. They range from unicellular yeast to large cup fungi. The sexual reproductive structure is the asci, a small sac like structure. These asci are packed into large fruiting structures called ascocarps. The hyphae are multicellular septate structures. They lack sporangia but reproduce asexually by producing chains of spores at the tip of specialized hyphae. These spores are called conidia. Two types of spores are produced by this type of fungus, conidia and ascospores. Conidia are asexual, while the ascospores are sexual.
These fungi are important in decomposing lignin and collagen of dead plants and animals. Some are mutualistic ( lichen) and many are parasitic to plants ( powdery mildew and Dutch elm disease).
Division Basidomycota: The mushroom, shelf fungi, puffballs and stink horns are examples of this division. The name is derived from the sexual reproductive structure called the basidium. The club like shape gives the name to some of the most common fungal types in this division.
Division Deuteromycota: These organism have no known sexual life style. They are also known as fungi imperfecti. Examples of this group are Penicillium and Arthrobotrys.
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