Fungi imperfecti

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Fungi imperfecti
Conidiophore of Aspergillus sp.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Species
See below.

The fungi imperfecti or imperfect fungi are fungi which do not fit into the commonly established taxonomic classifications of fungi that are based on biological species concepts or morphological characteristics of sexual structures because their sexual form of reproduction has never been observed. They are known as imperfect fungi because only their asexual and vegetative phases are known. They have asexual form of reproduction, meaning that these fungi produce their spores asexually, in the process called sporogenesis.

There are about 25,000 species that have been classified in the deuteromycota and many are basidiomycota or ascomycota anamorphs. Fungi producing the antibiotic penicillin and those that cause athlete's foot and yeast infections are algal fungi. In addition, there are a number of edible imperfect fungi, including the ones that provide the distinctive characteristics of Roquefort and Camembert cheese.

Other, more informal names besides Deuteromycota ("Deuteromycetes") and fungi imperfecti are anamorphic fungi, or mitosporic fungi, but these are terms without taxonomic rank. Examples are Alternaria, Colletotrichum, Trichoderma etc.