''Mucronella'' 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 ...

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

Clavariaceae The Clavariaceae are a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. Originally the family contained most of the clavarioid fungi (club and coral fungi), but in its current sense is more restricted, albeit with a greater diversity of basidiocarp (frui ...

. Species in the genus resemble awl-shaped teeth that grow in groups without a common subiculum (supporting layer of

mycelium Mycelium (: mycelia) is a root-like structure of a fungus consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. Its normal form is that of branched, slender, entangled, anastomosing, hyaline threads. Fungal colonies composed of mycelium are fo ...

Taxonomy

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 ...

was originally named ''Hydnum calvum'' in a collaborative effort by the German botanist

Johannes Baptista von Albertini Johannes Baptista von Albertini (17 February 1769 – 6 December 1831) was a German botanist, mycologist and clergyman of the Moravian Church. He was born in the town of Neuwied. He studied theology in Niesky and at the seminary in Barby. During ...

and the American

Lewis David de Schweinitz Lewis David de Schweinitz (13 February 1780 – 8 February 1834) was a German-American botanist and mycologist from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Considered the "Father of North American Mycology," he also made significant contributions to botany. ...

in 1805. Swedish mycologist

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 ...

transferred the species to the newly described genus ''Mucronella'' in 1874.

Molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

analysis suggests that the genus is

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

, and is

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to ref ...

to the remainder of the Clavariaceae, confirming earlier suspicions that the taxa were phylogenetically related. It had previously been placed in the

Russulales The Russulales are an order of the Agaricomycetes, (which include the agaric genera '' Russula'' and ''Lactarius'' and their polyporoid and corticioid relatives). According to the ''Dictionary of the Fungi'' (10th edition, 2008), the order con ...

due to its

amyloid Amyloids are aggregates of proteins characterised by a fibrillar morphology of typically 7–13 nm in diameter, a β-sheet secondary structure (known as cross-β) and ability to be stained by particular dyes, such as Congo red. In the human ...

spores, and its morphological similarity to some members of genus ''

Hericium ''Hericium'' is a genus of edible mushrooms in the family Hericiaceae. Species in this genus are white and fleshy and grow on dead or dying wood; fruiting body, fruiting bodies resemble a mass of fragile icicle-like spines that are suspended fro ...

''.

Description

Fruitbodies of ''Mucronella'' species resemble hanging spines; they occur singly, scattered, or in groups. Colors range from white to yellow to orange. ''Mucronella'' has a monomitic

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 —consisting of only generative hyphae. The

basidia A basidium (: basidia) is a microscopic spore-producing structure found on the hymenophore of reproductive bodies of basidiomycete fungi. The presence of basidia is one of the main characteristic features of the group. These bodies are also ...

(spore-bearing cells) are four-spored and club shaped.

Basidiospore A basidiospore is a reproductive spore produced by basidiomycete fungi, a grouping that includes mushrooms, shelf fungi, rusts, and smuts. Basidiospores typically each contain one haploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromos ...

s are usually smooth with thin walls, weakly amyloid, and somewhat

hyaline A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from , and . Histopathology Hyaline cartilage is named after its glassy appearance on fresh gross pathology. On light microscopy of H&E stained slides, the extracellula ...

(translucent). ''Mucronella'' is the sole genus in the Clavariaceae with amyloid spores, and with the "hanging spine" fruitbody morphology.

Habitat and distribution

''Mucronella'' species are

saprotrophic Saprotrophic nutrition or lysotrophic nutrition is a process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion involved in the processing of decayed (dead or waste) organic matter. It occurs in saprotrophs, and is most often associated with fungi ...

Kartar Singh Thind Kartar Singh Thind (30 October 1917 – 3 December 1991) was a botanist. He was born in Saidpur, Sultanpur Lodhi tehsil, Kapurthala district, Punjab, India. A scientist and educationist, Thind was M.Sc, Ph. D, F.N.A.Sc. He did his Doctorat ...

and I.P.S. Khurana identified five species from the northwestern

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

, India, in 1974: '' M. bresadolae'', '' M. calva'', '' M. flava'', '' M. subalpina'', and '' M. pulchra''.

Species

2011-11-22 Mucronella flava Corner 183988

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 17 species of ''Mucronella'': *'' Mucronella albidula'' (Corner) Berthier 1985 *'' Mucronella argentina'' Speg. 1898 – South America *'' Mucronella belalongensis'' P.Roberts 1998 –

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

*'' Mucronella brasiliensis'' Corner 1950 – South America *'' Mucronella bresadolae'' (Quél.) Corner 1970 *'' Mucronella calva'' (Alb. & Schwein.) Fr. 1874 *'' Mucronella flava'' Corner 1953 *'' Mucronella fusiformis'' (Kauffman) K.A.Harrison 1972 *'' Mucronella minutissima'' Peck 1891 *'' Mucronella pendula'' (Massee) R.H.Petersen 1980 – Australia *'' Mucronella polyporacea'' Velen. 1922 – Europe *'' Mucronella pulchra'' Corner 1970 – Pakistan *'' Mucronella pusilla'' Corner 1950 *'' Mucronella ramosa'' Lloyd 1922 *'' Mucronella styriaca'' Maas Geest. 1977 – Europe *'' Mucronella subalpina'' K.S.Thind & Khurana 1974 – India *'' Mucronella togoensis'' Henn. 1897 – Africa

References

External links