''Gomphus'' 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 ...
of
cantharelloid 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 family
Gomphaceae.
Once presumed to be related to
chanterelles, molecular study has shown them to be allied with
stinkhorns and
fairy clubs. The
type species
In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, 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 spe ...
of the genus is the pig's ear (''
G. clavatus'').
Christiaan Hendrik Persoon
Christiaan Hendrik Persoon (31 December 1761 – 16 November 1836) was a Cape Colony mycologist who is recognized as one of the founders of mycology, mycological Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy.
Early life
Persoon was born in Cape Colony at ...
named the genus in 1797, but did not assign any species to it at the time.
The generic 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'.
[
]
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 12 species of ''Gomphus'':Nothofagus cunninghamii
''Nothofagus cunninghamii'', commonly known as myrtle beech or Tasmanian myrtle, is the dominant species of cool temperate rainforests in Tasmania and Southern Victoria. It has low fire resistance and grows best in partial shade conditions.
It ...
'') in Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
.[Fuhrer B (2005) A Field Guide to Australian Fungi. Bloomings Books. ] Bruce Fuhrer noticed in 1992 that the large and ornamented spores of these species resembled those of the genera '' Ramaria'' and ''Beenakia
''Beenakia'' is a genus of fungi in the Clavariadelphaceae
The Clavariadelphaceae are a family of fungi belonging in what is classically known as the Gomphales order, or cladistically as the gomphoid-phalloid clade. First described by Britis ...
''.
References
Gomphaceae
Agaricomycetes genera
Taxa named by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon
{{Gomphales-stub