''Pseudocolus'' is a genus of fungi in the stinkhorn family. The

fruit bodies The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cyc ...

have three or four simple arms that are initially joined at the tip, but often break apart. The tips of the arms are covered with a slimy, foul-smelling gleba, which attracts insects that help disperse the

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...

s. The genus contains three species: the

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

Pseudocolus fusiformis ''Pseudocolus fusiformis'' is a stinkhorn mushroom in the Phallaceae, a family well known for a remarkable range of fruit body types. It is the most widely distributed member of the genus ''Pseudocolus'' and has been found in the United States ...

'', '' P. garciae'', similar in appearance to the type but with a pinkish to red, rather than orange color, and '' P. grandis'', found in India.

Taxonomy

The first appearance of the type species, ''

'', in the literature was in 1890, under the name ''Colus fusiformis'', when Eduard Fischer wrote a description based on a painting he found in the Paris Museum of Natural History. In his 1944

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

on the Gasteromycetes of Australia and New Zealand,

Gordon Herriot Cunningham Gordon Herriot Cunningham, CBE, FRS (27 August 1892 – 18 July 1962) was the first New Zealand-based mycologist and plant pathologist. In 1936 he was appointed the first director of the DSIR Plant Diseases Division. Cunningham established the ...

considered this naming to be a ''

nomen nudum In taxonomy, a ''nomen nudum'' ('naked name'; plural ''nomina nuda'') is a designation which looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, and may have originally been intended to be one, but it has not been published with an adequate descr ...

''—not published with an adequate description. However, it was valid under the rules of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. In 1899 Penzig described the species ''Colus javanicus'' based on a single specimen found on Java, and a year later Fischer amended the name of his original ''Colus fusiformis'' to ''Colus javanicus'', as he was not satisfied with the quality of his original description. Despite his doubts on the validity of his description, his original naming is both legitimate and has priority over ''C. javanicus''. In 1907,

Curtis Gates Lloyd Curtis Gates Lloyd (July 17, 1859 – November 11, 1926) was an American mycologist known for both his research on the gasteroid and polypore fungi, as well as his controversial views on naming conventions in taxonomy. He had a herbarium with ab ...

described the new genus ''Pseudocolus'', and reduced several species to synonyms of ''Pseudocolus fusiformis''.

Description

The fruit body consists of a flaring, short stipe surmounted by unbranched columns that bear the gleba and are normally united at the apex, occasionally becoming free. The tissue of the receptacle has a tubular structure.

Species

Several species described as ''Pseudocolus'' have been reduced to synonymy with ''P. fusiformis'', while others are poorly known and have been seldom reported in the literature since their original descriptions. *'' Pseudocolus archeri'' (Berk.) Lloyd (1913) :Originally described in 1860 by Miles Joseph Berkeley as ''Lysurus archeri '', this name is one of many synonyms now lumped under ''

Clathrus archeri ''Clathrus archeri'' (synonyms ''Lysurus archeri'', ''Anthurus archeri'', ''Pseudocolus archeri''), commonly known as octopus stinkhorn or devil's fingers, is a fungus which has a global distribution. Using rDNA, Geastrales, Gauteriales and Phal ...

'' (Berk.) Dring (1980) *''

'' (E.Fisch.) Lloyd (1909) :Originally ''Colus fusiformis'' E.Fisch. *'' Pseudocolus garciae'' (Möller) Lloyd (1907) *''

Pseudocolus grandis ''Pseudocolus'' is a genus of fungi in the stinkhorn family. The fruit bodies have three or four simple arms that are initially joined at the tip, but often break apart. The tips of the arms are covered with a slimy, foul-smelling gleba, whi ...

'' J.A. Sáenz, Rawla & R. Sharma (1982) *'' Pseudocolus jaczewskii'' Woronow (1918) :Described in 1918 from specimens collected by Voronoc in South Colchis; synonymous with ''P. fusiformis'' *'' Pseudocolus javanicus'' (Penz.) Lloyd (1907) *'' Pseudocolus mauritianus'' Lloyd (1917) *'' Pseudocolus rothae'' (Lloyd) Yasuda (1916) *'' Pseudocolus rothae'' Lloyd (1907) *'' Pseudocolus schellenbergiae'' (Sumst.) Johnson (1929)

Distribution

''Pseudocolis fusiformis'' is known from east Asia and Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand, and southern Africa, and has been introduced to the United States. ''P. garciae'' is found in North America and South America. ''P. grandis'' is found in both northern and southern India.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7254683 Phallales Agaricomycetes genera Taxa named by Curtis Gates Lloyd Taxa described in 1907