''Cryptostroma corticale'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of fungus that causes sooty bark disease of

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

s, particularly

sycamore Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the ancient Greek ' (''sūkomoros'') meaning "fig-mulberry". Species of trees known as sycamore: * ''Acer pseudoplata ...

(''Acer pseudoplatanus''). The spores grow profusely under the bark of affected trees or stacked logs. The fungus causes disease and death in trees, and the spores are

allergen An allergen is a type of antigen that produces an abnormally vigorous immune response in which the immune system fights off a perceived threat that would otherwise be harmless to the body. Such reactions are called allergies. In technical terms ...

ic and cause a debilitating

pneumonitis Pneumonitis describes general inflammation of lung tissue. Possible causative agents include radiation therapy of the chest, exposure to medications used during chemo-therapy, the inhalation of debris (e.g., animal dander), aspiration, herbicide ...

(inflammation of the lungs) in humans.

Taxonomy

The fungus is thought to have originated in North America and was originally named ''Coniosporium corticale'' by the American mycologists

Job Bicknell Ellis Job Bicknell Ellis (January 21, 1829 – December 30, 1905) was a pioneering North American mycologist known for his study of ascomycetes, especially the grouping of fungi called the Pyrenomycetes (known today as the Sordariomycetes). Born and r ...

and Benjamin Matlack Everhart. The characteristics of the stroma, conidiophores and conidia was the basis for placing it in a new genus as ''Cryptostroma corticale''. It is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

Biology

Sooty bark disease causes wilting of the crown and dieback of branches. Rectangular patches of bark, and later long strips of bark, become detached from the trunk exposing thick layers of black fungal spores. It has been found that the fungus spreads more rapidly through the tree's tissues at than at , and in the former instance, more rapidly when the tree is under greater water stress. This would seem to suggest that the disease is associated with raised summer temperatures.

Allergenic activity

Maple bark disease, or maple bark stripper’s disease, is an uncommon condition caused by exposure to the spores of ''C. corticale''. The spores are hyper-allergenic and cause a

hypersensitivity pneumonitis Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) or extrinsic allergic alveolitis (EAA) is a syndrome caused by the repetitive inhalation of antigens from the environment in susceptible or sensitized people. Common antigens include molds, bacteria, bird dropping ...

. The disease has been found among workers in the paper industry employed to debark, cut and chip maple logs. The symptoms include breathlessness, fever, night sweats, chills and weight loss.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10462705 Fungi described in 1889 Fungal tree pathogens and diseases Fungi of North America