Basidiomycetes

(bă-sid″ē-ō-mī-sēt′ēz″)

In one system of taxonomy, a class of the true fungi that contains mushrooms, bracket fungi, the plant parasites rusts and smuts, and the human parasite Cryptococcus. This class is equivalent to the phylum Basidiomycotina in another system of taxonomy. Mushroom toxins may be lethal to humans if ingested, and spores of these fungi may cause allergic asthma.
SEE: Basidiomycotina