''Diacanthodes'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of three species of poroid fungi in the family

Meruliaceae The Meruliaceae are a family of fungi in the order Polyporales. According to a 2008 estimate, the family contains 47 genera and 420 species. , Index Fungorum accepts 645 species in the family. Taxonomy The family was formally circumscribed by E ...

Taxonomy

The genus was

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every po ...

by mycologist

Rolf Singer Rolf Singer (June 23, 1906 – January 18, 1994) was a German-born mycologist and one of the most important taxonomists of gilled mushrooms (agarics) in the 20th century. After receiving his Ph.D. at the University of Vienna in 1931 he worked ...

in 1945, with ''Daedalea philippinensis'' as 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 specimen( ...

. This fungus was originally described by French mycologist

Narcisse Théophile Patouillard Narcisse Théophile Patouillard (2 July 1854 – 30 March 1926) was a French pharmacist and mycologist. He was born in Macornay, a town in the department of Jura. He studied in Besançon, then furthered his education at the École Supérieure ...

] in 1915 as ''Daedalea philippinensis''.

Description

Basidiocarp, Fruit bodies of ''Diacanthodes'' fungi have circular

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

that may be partially funnel-shaped (infundibuliform), and a surface texture ranging from

tomentose Trichomes (); ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a plan ...

(covered with densely entangled hairs) to strigose (with stiff, sharp-pointed hairs). The colour of the pore surface is light brown, but it darkens with time. ''Diacanthodes'' has a dimitic

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 ...

l system, meaning it contains both generative hyphae and skeletal hyphae. The generative hyphae have

clamp connection A clamp connection is a hook-like structure formed by growing hyphal cells of certain fungi. It is a characteristic feature of Basidiomycetes fungi. It is created to ensure that each cell, or segment of hypha separated by septa (cross walls), rece ...

s; the skeletal hyphae are thick-walled to solid, and have a weak

dextrinoid In mycology a tissue or feature is said to be amyloid if it has a positive amyloid reaction when subjected to a crude chemical test using iodine as an ingredient of either Melzer's reagent or Lugol's solution, producing a blue to blue-black staini ...

reaction. The

spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, ...

are broadly

ellipsoid An ellipsoid is a surface that may be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation. An ellipsoid is a quadric surface; that is, a surface that may be defined as the ...

, ornamented, and dextrinoid.

Leif Ryvarden Leif Randulff Ryvarden (born 9 August 1935) is a Norwegian mycologist. Early life and education Leif Ryvarden was born in Bergen as a son of Einar Norberg Johansen (1900–1959) and Hjørdis Randulff (1912–1975). He finished his secondary ed ...

suggests that ''

Bondarzewia ''Bondarzewia'' is a widely distributed genus of fungi in the family Bondarzewiaceae. The genus was circumscribed by mycologist Rolf Singer Rolf Singer (June 23, 1906 – January 18, 1994) was a German-born mycologist and one of the most imp ...

'' may be the genus most closely related to ''Diacanthodes'', based on morphological similarities. Both genera feature ornamented spores, the same hyphal system, and similar

habit A habit (or wont as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously.

. They differ in microscopic characteristics: ''Bondartzewia'' fungi have clampless generative hyphae, no

cystidia A cystidium (plural cystidia) is a relatively large cell found on the sporocarp of a basidiomycete (for example, on the surface of a mushroom gill), often between clusters of basidia. Since cystidia have highly varied and distinct shapes that ar ...

, and amyloid spores.

Habitat and distribution

''Diacanthodes'' has a

pantropical A pantropical ("all tropics") distribution is one which covers tropical regions of both hemispheres. Examples of species include caecilians, modern sirenians and the plant genera ''Acacia'' and '' Bacopa''. '' Neotropical'' is a zoogeographic t ...

distribution. Its fruit bodies occur on the ground.

Species

*'' Diacanthodes fluminensis'' Corner (1989) *''

Diacanthodes griseus ''Diacanthodes'' is a genus of three species of poroid fungi in the family Meruliaceae. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed by mycologist Rolf Singer in 1945, with ''Daedalea philippinensis'' as the type species. This fungus was originally de ...

'' Corner (1989) *''

Diacanthodes novoguineensis ''Diacanthodes'' is a genus of three species of poroid fungi in the family Meruliaceae. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed by mycologist Rolf Singer in 1945, with ''Daedalea philippinensis'' as the type species. This fungus was originally de ...

'' (Henn.) O.Fidalgo (1962)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5270216 Taxa described in 1945 Meruliaceae Polyporales genera Taxa named by Rolf Singer