If you find a strange fungus today, identify it using modern keys (based on Alexopoulos’s morphological groundwork), then check GenBank. You will be standing on the shoulders of a giant named Constantine Alexopoulos.
Alexopoulos divided the kingdom Fungi (which he considered separate from plants) into based on the presence of flagellated cells (zoospores). This is the most fundamental split in his system. classification of fungi according to alexopoulos
Unlike plants, which are classified primarily by floral morphology, fungi are cryptic. They spend most of their lives as invisible threads (hyphae). Alexopoulos prioritized three key characteristics: If you find a strange fungus today, identify
The largest division, containing the "true fungi" that lack motile cells entirely. Reproduction occurs through non-motile spores or various sexual processes. Classification of fungi by alexopolus | PPTX - Slideshare This is the most fundamental split in his system
Alexopoulos, C. J. (1962). The classification of fungi. In The Fungi (Vol. 1, pp. 1-20). Academic Press.
His Introductory Mycology (4th edition, by Alexopoulos, Mims, & Blackwell, 1996) was the last edition to use his classical system. By the 5th edition (2019), the title changed to Introductory Mycology: A Modern Classification .