The Discinaceae are a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

ascomycete Ascomycota is a phylum of the kingdom Fungi that, together with the Basidiomycota, forms the subkingdom Dikarya. Its members are commonly known as the sac fungi or ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species. The d ...

fungi, the best known members of which are the

false morel The name false morel is given to several species of mushroom which bear a resemblance to the highly regarded true morels of the genus '' Morchella''. Like ''Morchella'', false morels are members of the Pezizales, but within that group represent s ...

s of the genus ''

Gyromitra ''Gyromitra'' () is a genus of about 18 species of ascomycete fungi. They are a false morel - a frequently toxic mushroom that can be mistaken for edible mushrooms of the genus '' Morchella'' (morels). Taxonomy The name ''Gyromitra'' comes fro ...

''. Originally erected by Erich Heinz Benedix in 1961, it was found to be a discrete clade in a

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

study of

ribosomal DNA Ribosomal DNA (rDNA) is a DNA sequence that codes for ribosomal RNA. These sequences regulate transcription initiation and amplification, and contain both transcribed and non-transcribed spacer segments. In the human genome there are 5 chrom ...

by mycologist Kerry O'Donnell in 1997. As of 2008, the family is thought to contain 5

genera 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 ...

and 58

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), 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 ...

. As of 2022, the

GBIF The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is an international organisation that focuses on making scientific data on biodiversity available via the Internet using web services. The data are provided by many institutions from around th ...

accepts '' Discina'' (27 spp), '' Gymnohydnotrya'' (4 spp), ''

'' (73 spp), '' Hydnotrya'' (52 spp) and '' Maublancomyces'' (1 sp). But calls ''Neogyromitra'' and '' Pseudorhizina'' doubtful. Members in the family Discinaceae are known to have

epigeous Epigeal, epigean, epigeic and epigeous are biological terms describing an organism's activity above the soil surface. In botany, a seed is described as showing epigeal germination when the cotyledons of the germinating seed expand, throw off the ...

and

hypogeous Hypogeal, hypogean, hypogeic and hypogeous (; ) are biological terms describing an organism's activity below the soil surface. In botany, a seed is described as showing hypogeal germination when the cotyledons of the germinating seed remain no ...

species, and are characterized by

ascomata An ascocarp, or ascoma (), is the fruiting body ( sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. Ascocarps are mo ...

composed of an inner layer of interwoven

hyphae 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 or ...

and an outer layer composed of elongated cells arranged perpendicular to its exterior. Discinaceae include species possessing saddle-shaped

apothecia An ascocarp, or ascoma (), is the fruiting body ( sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. Ascocarps are mo ...

and

truffles A truffle is the fruiting body of a subterranean ascomycete fungus, predominantly one of the many species of the genus ''Tuber''. In addition to ''Tuber'', many other genera of fungi are classified as truffles including '' Geopora'', '' Pezi ...

. Discinaceae possess cylindrical, 8-spored, tapered

asci ASCI or Asci may refer to: * Advertising Standards Council of India * Asci, the plural of ascus, in fungal anatomy * Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative * American Society for Clinical Investigation * Argus Sour Crude Index * Association of ...

and

ascospores An ascus (; ) is the sexual spore-bearing cell produced in ascomycete fungi. Each ascus usually contains eight ascospores (or octad), produced by meiosis followed, in most species, by a mitotic cell division. However, asci in some genera or ...

that can be elliptical, globose or fusoid. Discinaceae exhibit various morphological traits, such as disc-shaped fruiting bodies, brain-like stalks, and saddle-shaped caps. Discinaceae has been proposed as a sister lineage with

Morchellaceae The Morchellaceae are a family of ascomycete fungi in the order Pezizales. According to a standard reference work, the family has contained at least 49 species distributed among four genera. However, in 2012, five genera that produce ascoma tha ...

, but is only supported by similarities in morphologic traits. Members such as Hydnotrya tulasnei are known to form

ectomycorrhizal An ectomycorrhiza (from Greek ἐκτός ', "outside", μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. ectomycorrhizas or ectomycorrhizae, abbreviated EcM) is a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbiont, or mycob ...

relationships with broadleaf and

conifer Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All ex ...

trees in the Northern Hemisphere. Discinaceae abundance has been found to significantly correlate by forest type, such as the abundance of Hydnotrya in black truffle-producing

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...

forests in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

References

Ascomycota families {{Pezizomycetes-stub