''Multifurca'' is a rare
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
ectomycorrhiza
An ectomycorrhiza (from Greek ἐκτός ', "outside", μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; ectomycorrhizas or ectomycorrhizae, abbreviated EcM) is a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbiont, or mycobio ...
l
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
Russulaceae
The Russulaceae are a diverse family (biology), family of fungi in the order Russulales, with roughly 1,900 known species and a worldwide distribution. They comprise the Russula, brittlegills and the milk-caps, well-known mushroom-forming fungi ...
. It was described in 2008, after
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 ...
study had shown that it forms a
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 ...
lineage within the family,
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 ''
Lactarius
''Lactarius'' is a genus of mushroom-producing, ectomycorrhizal fungi, containing several Edible mushroom, edible species. The species of the genus, common name, commonly known as milk-caps, are characterized by the milky fluid ("latex") they ex ...
''.
The genus contains six species known from the United States, Mexico,
Costa Rica
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
, India, China,
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, Australia, and
New Caledonia
New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
, but so far has not been reported from
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
,
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
, or
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
.
Four of those species were formerly classified as ''
Russula
''Russula'' is a very large genus composed of around 750 worldwide species of fungi. The genus was described by Christian Hendrik Persoon in 1796.
The mushrooms are fairly large, and brightly colored – making them one of the most recognizable ...
'' section ''Ochricompactae'', and ''
Multifurca furcata
''Multifurca furcata'' is a rare mushroom-forming fungus in the genus '' Multifurca''. It was originally described as a ''Lactarius'' species in 1918 and was moved to the new genus ''Multifurca'' in 2008. With the genus ''Lactarius'' it shares th ...
'' was originally described as a ''
Lactarius
''Lactarius'' is a genus of mushroom-producing, ectomycorrhizal fungi, containing several Edible mushroom, edible species. The species of the genus, common name, commonly known as milk-caps, are characterized by the milky fluid ("latex") they ex ...
'' species.
[
''Multifurca'' is morphologically intermediate between '']Lactarius
''Lactarius'' is a genus of mushroom-producing, ectomycorrhizal fungi, containing several Edible mushroom, edible species. The species of the genus, common name, commonly known as milk-caps, are characterized by the milky fluid ("latex") they ex ...
'' and ''Russula
''Russula'' is a very large genus composed of around 750 worldwide species of fungi. The genus was described by Christian Hendrik Persoon in 1796.
The mushrooms are fairly large, and brightly colored – making them one of the most recognizable ...
'': Fruitbodies have adnate to subdecurrent gills
A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...
and are