''Arachnion'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

gasteroid fungi The gasteroid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota. Species were formerly placed in the obsolete class Gasteromycetes Fr. (literally "stomach fungi"), or the equally obsolete order Gasteromycetales Rea, because they produce spores insid ...

in the family

Agaricaceae The Agaricaceae are a family of basidiomycete fungi and include the genus ''Agaricus'', as well as basidiomycetes previously classified in the families Tulostomataceae, Lepiotaceae, and Lycoperdaceae. Taxonomy The family Agaricaceae was publishe ...

Taxonomy

The genus was

circumscribed In geometry, a circumscribed circle for a set of points is a circle passing through each of them. Such a circle is said to ''circumscribe'' the points or a polygon formed from them; such a polygon is said to be ''inscribed'' in the circle. * Circum ...

Lewis David von Schweinitz Lewis David de Schweinitz (13 February 1780 – 8 February 1834) was a German-American botanist and mycologist from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Considered the "Father of North American Mycology," he also made significant contributions to botany. ...

in 1822 with '' Arachnion album'' as the

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

, and only species. The genus name is

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

for "cobweb".

William Chambers Coker William Chambers Coker (October 24, 1872 – June 26, 1953) was an American botanist and mycologist. Biography He was born at Hartsville, South Carolina on October 24, 1872. He graduated from South Carolina College in 1894 and took postgradua ...

and

John Nathaniel Couch John Nathaniel Couch (12 October 1896 in Prince Edward County, Virginia – 16 December 1986) was an American mycologist. He was a professor at the Department of Botany at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of Nort ...

the family Arachniaceae in 1928 to contain ''Arachnion''. The genus was later placed in the now-defunct family

Lycoperdaceae The Agaricaceae are a family of basidiomycete fungi and include the genus '' Agaricus'', as well as basidiomycetes previously classified in the families Tulostomataceae, Lepiotaceae, and Lycoperdaceae. Taxonomy The family Agaricaceae was publis ...

. Modern

molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, ...

analysis has shown that ''Arachnion'', as well as other puffball genera, are part of the family

Description

''Arachnion'' species have a characteristic

gleba Gleba (, from Latin ''glaeba, glēba'', "lump") is the fleshy spore-bearing inner mass of certain fungi such as the puffball or stinkhorn. The gleba is a solid mass of spores, generated within an enclosed area within the sporocarp. The conti ...

, resembling a mass of grainy, sand-like particles. At a microscopic scale, the granules are peridioles, or tiny sacs made of

hypha A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one o ...

e that contain

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual reproduction, sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for biological dispersal, dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores fo ...

s. Inside each sac is a minuscule chamber that contains inward-facing

basidia A basidium (: basidia) is a microscopic spore-producing structure found on the hymenophore of reproductive bodies of basidiomycete fungi. The presence of basidia is one of the main characteristic features of the group. These bodies are also ...

(spore-bearing cells), an arrangement similar to that seen in ''

Lycoperdon ''Lycoperdon'' is a genus of puffball mushrooms. The genus has a widespread distribution and contains about 50 species. In general, it contains the smaller species such as the pear-shaped puffball and the gem-studded puffball. It was formerly cl ...

''. The fruitbodies have a smooth, thin, and fragile

peridium The peridium is the protective layer that encloses a mass of spores in fungi. This outer covering is a distinctive feature of gasteroid fungi. Description Depending on the species, the peridium may vary from being paper-thin to thick and rubb ...

that readily disintegrates into small pieces in maturity to expose the granular contents.

Distribution

The genus is widely distributed, with species found in Australia, North and South America, South Africa, and Europe, and Japan.

Species

Index Fungorum ''Index Fungorum'' is an international project to index all formal names (scientific names) in the fungus kingdom. As of 2015, the project is based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, one of three partners along with Landcare Research and th ...

accepts 11 species in ''Arachnion'': *'' Arachnion alborosellum'' Verwoerd 1926 – South Africa *'' Arachnion album'' Schwein. 1822 *'' Arachnion bovista'' (Mont.) Mont. 1849 *'' Arachnion firmoderma'' Verwoerd 1926 – South Africa *'' Arachnion foetens'' Speg. 1906 – South America *'' Arachnion iriemae'' Rick 1961 *'' Arachnion iulii'' Quadr. 1996 – Italy *'' Arachnion lazoi'' Demoulin 1972 *'' Arachnion lloydianum'' Demoulin 1972 *'' Arachnion rufum'' Lloyd 1906 *'' Arachnion scleroderma'' Lloyd 1915

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4783552 Agaricaceae Agaricales genera Taxa named by Lewis David de Schweinitz

Taxonomy

Description

Distribution

Species

See also

References