funghwang, fenghwang (funghwang)

[Chinese.] In Chinese myth., a fabulous bird of good omen said to appear when a sage is about to ascend the throne, or when right principles are about to triumph throughout the empire. It is usually called the Chinese pheniz, but seems, from the descriptions of it found in books, to resemble the Argus pheasant. It has not appeared since the days of Confucius. It is frequently represented on Chinese and Japanese porcelains and other works of art. Fung is the name of the male bird, and hwang of the female. The fung -hwang of Chinese legends is a sort of pheasant, adorned with every color, and combining in its form and motions whatever is elegant and graceful, as well as po e ing such a benevolent disposition that it will not peck or injure living insects, nor tread on growing herbs. S. W. Williams , Middle Kingdom, I. 266. Fungi (fun'ji), n. pl. [L., pl. of fungus, a mushroom: see fungus.] One of the lowest of the great groups of cellular cryptogams. The Fungi are chiefly distinguished by the absence of chlorophyl, and therefore by the lack of power to a imilate inorganic substances, being thus dependent for their food upon living or dead organic matter obtained from other plants or from animals. Consequently, also, they do not inhale carbonic acid and give off oxygen as chlorophyllous plants do in a imilation, but do inhale oxygen and give off car bonic acid as other plants do in respiration. The vegetative system consists of filiform cells, called hyphæ, and the hyphæ of a fungus taken collectively are called the mycelium. The hyphæ are usually septate and branched; in some fungi, as Per ono sporeæ and their allies, there are no septa except those which divide off the propagative cells or organs. Exceptions to the hyphal plan of structure occur in several cases. In the yeast-fungi and yeast-like stages of certain other fungi the plant consists of a succe ion of ellipsoid cells formed by budding; in the Chytridieæ certain species have no mycelium, but consist of a spherical or ovoid cell; in the bacteria the prevailing form is that of very minute spheres or rods, which multiply by fi ion; in the vegetative stage of the Myzomycetes there is only a ma of protoplasm. The mycelium is said to be filamen to us when the hyphæ are separate, or at most but loosely interwoven, as in the common molds; membranous when the hyphæ are so interwoven as to form a layer; fibrous when the hyphæ form branching strands, the latter being often of considerable size and indurated. In some groups, as P P M Poisonous Mushroom (Amanita). A, annulus: C , cortina; // , hymenium; M. mycelium; P. pileus; S , stipe; I ', volva. the mushrooms, the interwoven hyphæ form a compound fungus-body of definite and regular shape. Fungi are sa characters in distinguishing the secondary groups: but the usual method recognizes fungi as wholly distinct from algæ, separated by physiological and morphological characters, in this respect agreeing with the old method. The artificial system formerly in use and still retained in some English books divides the fungi into the orders Ascomy cetes, Physomycetes, Hyp homy cetes, Coniomycetes, Gasteromycetes, and Hymenomycetes. De Bary in 1861 made four divisions: Phycomycetes, Hypodermicæ, Basidiomycetes, and Ascomycetes. Goebel (1882) does not include Muzo mycetes and Schizomycetes with Fungi proper; the latter he divides into Chytrid i aceæ, Ustilagineæ, Phycomycetes, Ascomycetes, Uredineæ, and Basidiomycetes. The Fungi Imperfect i of modern authors include a large number of forms, of which some are known, and most are suspected, to be the asexual stages of Ascomycetes. The principal groups of Fungi Imperfect i are the Sphæropsidece, Melan conieæ, and Hyp homy cetes. The number of known species of fungi is estimated at about 30,000. Most of the edible fungi are found among the mushrooms and puffballs; but the truffle and morel are ascomycetous. Most of the species recognized as poisonous are mushrooms; but the ergot-fungus is ascomycetous. Some smuts are poisonous to cattle. Some fungi produce poisonous substances, as alcohol, by fermentation. Also called Fungales. See cuts under ascus, basidium, Clavaria, ergot, exo peridium, Fu sicladium, and Puccinia.