''Gomphidius'' 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 ...

mushrooms A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

, commonly known as spike-caps, that are members of the

Boletales The Boletales are an order of Agaricomycetes containing over 1300 species with a diverse array of fruiting body types. The boletes are the best known members of this group, and until recently, the Boletales were thought to only contain boletes. ...

(

suborder Order () is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized ...

Suillineae), or pored fungi. They appear to have gill-like structures which resemble those of

agarics An agaric () is a type of fungal fruiting body characterized by the presence of a pileus (cap) that is clearly differentiated from the stipe (stalk), with lamellae (gills) on the underside of the pileus. It is a type of mushroom (or toadstool), ...

, however the similarity is superficial only. The best-known member is the slimy spike-cap (''

Gomphidius glutinosus ''Gomphidius glutinosus'', commonly known as the slimy spike-cap, hideous gomphidius, or glutinous gomphidius is a gilled mushroom found in Europe & North America. Although it has gills, it is a member of the order Boletales, along with the bo ...

''). The genus has a widespread distribution, especially in north

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

areas, and contains 10 species.

Taxonomy

Elias Magnus Fries Elias Magnus Fries (15 August 1794 – 8 February 1878) was a Swedish mycologist and botanist. He is sometimes called the Mycology, "Linnaeus of Mycology". In his works he described and assigned botanical names to hundreds of fungus and li ...

initially described the genus as ''Agaricus'' subgenus ''Gomphus'' in 1821, before renaming it ''Gomphidius'' in 1825. The genus gives its name to the family

Gomphidiaceae The Gomphidiaceae are a family of mushroom-forming fungi in the order Boletales. Unlike other boletes, all members of Gomphidiaceae (except for ''Gomphogaster'') are agarics, having gills instead of pores. Member genera include '' Chroogomphus'', ...

. Despite being

agaricoid An agaric () is a type of fungal fruiting body characterized by the presence of a pileus (cap) that is clearly differentiated from the stipe (stalk), with lamellae (gills) on the underside of the pileus. It is a type of mushroom (or toadstool), ...

(bearing gills) the genus (and family) belong to the

(

Suillineae). The related genus ''

Chroogomphus ''Chroogomphus'' is a genus of mushrooms commonly known as pine-spikes or spike-caps based on their shape and because they are often found growing in association with pine trees. The genus is distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere includ ...

'' (whose species were once classified in ''Gomphidius''), is distinguished by the lack of a

partial veil In mycology, a partial veil (also called an inner veil, to differentiate it from the "outer", or universal veil) is a temporary structure of tissue found on the fruiting bodies of some Basidiomycota, basidiomycete fungus, fungi, typically agarics. ...

. The genus name is derived from the

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 ...

'γομφος' ''gomphos'' meaning 'plug' or 'large wedge-shaped nail'. Fries did not designate a type species, but ''G. glutinosus'' was later designated the lectotype as it was the first species listed. Miller subdivided the genus into three sections, section ''Microsporus'', typified by small spores, with ''G. oregonensis'' as the type, section ''Roseogomphus'', typified by large spores and pink cap, with ''G. subroseus'' as its type, and section ''Gomphidius''. Miller published a molecular analysis of the Gomphidiaceae in 2003, though material was not available from all taxa. The results showed ''G. flavipes'' and ''G. pseudoflavipes'' were sister taxa and their lineage was sister to a Japan-provenance material of ''G. roseus''. ''G. glutinosus'' and ''G. oregonensis'' were sister taxa with ''G. smithii'', ''G. subroseus'' and ''G. nigricans'' as progressively earlier offshoots. ''G. maculatus'' diverged from the ancestor of these eight species, and ''

Gomphidius borealis ''Gomphidius borealis'' is a mushroom in the family Gomphidiaceae The Gomphidiaceae are a family of mushroom-forming fungi in the order Boletales. Unlike other boletes, all members of Gomphidiaceae (except for ''Gomphogaster'') are agarics, ha ...

'' may be an early offshoot that is basal to the split between ''Chroogomphus'' and ''Gomphidius''. Miller suggested that the

gasteroid 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 insi ...

species '' Gomphogaster leucosarx'' may lie within ''Gomphidius'' but did not analyse that taxon genetically.

List of species

Description

The members of the genus have pink- to purple-, grey- or brown-tinted caps that have a sticky surface and a varnished appearance when dry. They have white gills.

Distribution and habitat

The genus occurs in coniferous forests throughout North America, Eurasia and North Africa. ''Gomphidius'' species associate with members of the subfamilies Piceoideae (''

Picea A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' is the sole genus ...

''), Laricoideae (''

Larix Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to the cooler regions of the northern hemisphere, where they are found in lowland forests in the high la ...

'' and ''

Pseudotsuga ''Pseudotsuga'' is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Common names for species in the genus include Douglas fir, Douglas-fir, Douglas tree, Oregon pine and Bigcone spruce. ''Pseudotsuga menzies ...

'') and Abietoideae (''

Abies Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...

'' and ''

Tsuga ''Tsuga'' (, from Japanese (), the name of '' Tsuga sieboldii'') is a genus of conifers in the subfamily Abietoideae of Pinaceae, the pine family. The English-language common name "hemlock" arose from a perceived similarity in the smell of it ...

'') within the Pinaceae.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1631217 Boletales Boletales genera Taxa named by Elias Magnus Fries Taxa described in 1836