Rhizoctonia solani, the most widely recognized species of Rhizoctonia was originally described by Julius Kühn on potato in 1858. Rhizoctonia solani is a basidiomycete fungus that does not produce any asexual spores (called conidia) and only occasionally will the fungus produce sexual spores In nature, R. solani reproduces asexually and exists primarily as vegetative mycelium and/or sclerotia. Unlike many basidiomycete fungi, the basidiospores are not enclosed in a fleshy, fruiting body or mushroom. The sexual fruiting structures and basidiospores (i.e. teleomorph) were first observed and described in detail by Prillieux and Delacroiz in 1891. The sexual stage of R. solani has undergone several name changes since 1891, but is now known as Thanatephorus cucumeris.