Geoglossaceae is a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

in the order Geoglossales,

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

Geoglossomycetes. These fungi are broadly known as earth tongues. The

ascocarps An ascocarp, or ascoma (: ascomata), 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. Ascoc ...

of most species in the family Geoglossaceae are terrestrial and are generally small, dark in color, and club-shaped with a height of 2–8 cm. The

ascospores In fungi, an ascospore is the sexual spore formed inside an ascus—the sac-like cell that defines the division Ascomycota, the largest and most diverse division of fungi. After two parental nuclei fuse, the ascus undergoes meiosis (halving of ...

are typically light-brown to dark-brown and are often multiseptate. Other species of fungi have been known to parasitize ascocarps. The use of a compound microscope is needed for accurate identification.

Systematics

The fungi that are now included in the fungal class Geoglossomycetes were previously considered by mycologists to be a family (Geoglossaceae) within the class

Leotiomycetes The Leotiomycetes are a class of ascomycete fungi. Many of them cause serious plant diseases. Systematics The class Leotiomycetes contains numerous species with an anamorph placed within the '' fungi imperfecti'' (deuteromycota), that have onl ...

. The family Geoglossaceae ''

sensu lato ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

'' was previously defined with 6

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

and 48 species. Early molecular evidence using

ribosomal DNA The ribosomal DNA (rDNA) consists of a group of ribosomal RNA encoding genes and related regulatory elements, and is widespread in similar configuration in all domains of life. The ribosomal DNA encodes the non-coding ribosomal RNA, integral struc ...

suggested that Geoglossaceae ''sensu lato'' was not a monophyletic group, and that the hyaline spored genera (e.g. ''

Leotia ''Leotia'' is a genus of cup fungi of the division Ascomycota. ''Leotia'' species are globally distributed, and are believed to be ectomycorrhizal. They are commonly known as ''jelly babies'' because of the gelatinous texture of their fruiting b ...

'', ''

Microglossum ''Microglossum'' is a genus of fungi in the family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis ...

'', and ''

Spathularia ''Spathularia'' is a genus of fungi in the family Cudoniaceae. Species in the genus are found in coniferous forests around the bases of conifers or near rotting logs. The genus name is Latin for 'broad sword'. ''Spathularia flavida'' '' Spathul ...

'') were not allied within the same clade as the darker-spored genera ('' Geoglossum'' and ''

Trichoglossum ''Trichoglossum'' is a genus of fungi in the family Geoglossaceae. They are commonly called hairy earth tongues. The type species is ''Trichoglossum hirsutum''. Members of the genus ''Trichoglossum'' have tiny hairs known as setae on the spore ...

''). Schoch et al., using a six-gene phylogeny including ribosomal DNA and protein-coding genes, found support for the establishment of a new class (Geoglossomycetes), containing the genera ''Geoglossum'', ''

Sarcoleotia ''Sarcoleotia'' is a genus of fungi in the earth tongue family Geoglossaceae. There is no known common name. History The genus was first described by Japanese mycologists Seiya Ito and Sanshi Imai in 1934, who separated ''Sarcoleotia'' from ''L ...

'', and ''Trichoglossum''. Further molecular research resulted in the addition of ''

Nothomitra ''Nothomitra'' is a genus of fungi in the earth tongue family Geoglossaceae. There is no known common name. ''Nothomitra'' is morphologically distinguished from ''Microglossum'' in that the fertile hymenium in ''Nothomitra'' is not flattened as ...

'' (previously treated as a relative or synonym of ''Microglossum'') to the group in 2011. '' Glutinoglossum'' was circumscribed in 2013 to contain the species formerly known as '' Geoglossum glutinosum'', and a new European species, '' G. heptaseptatum''. Several species in the genus ''

Neolecta ''Neolecta'' is a genus of ascomycetous fungi. The species share the English designation "Earth tongues" along with some better-known fungi (e.g. '' Geoglossum'', '' Microglossum'') with a similar general form, but in fact they are only distantl ...

'' have similar morphology and are also known by the common name of "earth tongues", but they are members of the quite distantly related

Taphrinomycotina The Taphrinomycotina are one of three subdivisions constituting the Ascomycota (fungi that form their spores in a sac-like ascus) and is more or less synonymous with the slightly older invalid name Archiascomycetes (sometimes spelled Archaeascomy ...

, an entirely different subdivision of the

Ascomycota 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 def ...

Habitat

Earth tongues are commonly found in soil or among rotting vegetation. In North America, they are commonly found in coniferous woodland, broad-leaved woodland and mixed woodland habitats, whereas in Europe they are commonly found in grassland habitats and are major components of the endangered

waxcap grassland Waxcap grassland is short-wikt:sward, sward, nutrient-poor grassland that supports a rich assemblage of larger fungi, particularly waxcaps (species of ''Hygrocybe'' and related genera), characteristic of such habitats. Waxcap grasslands occur pr ...

habitat.

References

* {{Taxonbar, from1=Q1349611, from2=Q15031551, from3=Q10504037 Taxa named by August Carl Joseph Corda Taxa described in 1838 Ascomycota families