The

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 ...

''Saproamanita'' contains about 24

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of agarics and is one of six genera in the family Amanitaceae, of which the similar ''

Amanita The genus ''Amanita'' contains about 600 species of agarics, including some of the most toxic known mushrooms found worldwide, as well as some well-regarded Edible mushroom, edible species (and many species of unknown edibility). The genus is re ...

'' is also a member. ''Saproamanita'' differs from ''Amanita'' in that its species are

saprophytic 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 ...

, and not

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 ...

Description

''Saproamanita'' resemble ''

''. They have a pileus, free

lamellae Lamella (: lamellae) means a small plate or flake in Latin, and in English may refer to: Biology * Lamella (mycology), a papery rib beneath a mushroom cap * Lamella (botany) * Lamella (surface anatomy), a plate-like structure in an animal * Lame ...

, a central stipe, and an annulus. Below the annulus are scales and rings, remnants of the universal veil composed largely of cylindrical to slender, clavate, inflated hyphal cells mostly scattered in the central stipe region (rather than the base). The

spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual (in fungi) 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 plant ...

are white and

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 ...

Taxonomy

The name refers to the saprotrophic life style and the generic relationship to its sister genus, ''Amanita''. In earlier studies the genus was ill-defined and named ''Lepidella'' and later ''Aspidella''. Both of these names are unusable because of earlier usage by biologists for other organisms, e.g. '' Aspidella'' E. Billings. The most recent adoption of the name ''Aspidella'' was based on a molecularly and ecologically defined genus similar to the current circumscription. DNA molecular evidence for the separation of the genus from ''Amanita'' was first detected in a 2002 study of mushrooms and their, with '' S. armillariiformis'' (then classified as an ''Amanita'') appearing basal to ''Amanita''. Later studies, supported by larger samplings of species and additional gene regions in investigations of Amanitaceae, expanded the sampling of both groups of species that were all considered to be ''Amanita'' species or separated into two genera under the names ''Aspidella'' and ''Amanita''. In that most detailed study of decomposition pathway enzymes that lends support for taxonomic separation, the subgeneric name ''Amanita'' subgen. ''Lepidella'' was misapplied to a group of species that did not include 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 subgenus; that subgeneric group of mycorrhizal species is more correctly named ''Amanita'' subgen. ''Amanitina''. Currently there are two competing contemporary classifications, one that recognizes the two genera, ''Amanita'' and ''Saproamanita'', and the other that maintains both genera under the older name ''Amanita''. A recent phylogenetic tree for the genus included information from Thailand by Nakarin Suwannarach and Surapong Khuna.

Distribution and habitat

''Saproamanita'' are known to inhabit grasslands, lawns, pastures, fens, and fields in

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 ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

including the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

and

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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

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 ...

, including

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

islands (e.g.

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

) and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, including

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, and

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 ...

, as well as glens in open canopy forests. Some species are known to form fairy rings. At least three of the species are

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

expanding their ranges, ''S. inopinata'' in Europe, ''S. thiersii'' in North America, and ''S. manicata'' in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

Genome sequencing

The genome of ''S. thiersii'' (as ''Amanita thiersii'') and its cellulose degrading capability are the subject of a

US Department of Energy US or Us most often refers to: * Us (pronoun), ''Us'' (pronoun), the objective case of the English first-person plural pronoun ''we'' * US, an abbreviation for the United States US, U.S., Us, us, or u.s. may also refer to: Arts and entertainme ...

Joint Genome Institute The Joint Genome Institute (JGI) is a scientific user facility for integrative genomic science at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The mission of the JGI is to advance genomics research in support of the United States Department of Energy ...

project.

Species

References

External links

''Saproamanita foetidissima''''Saproamanita inopinata''''Saproamanita manicata''''Saproamanita manicata''''Saproamanita praeclara''''Saproamanita singeri''''Saproamanita subcaligata''''Saproamanita vittadinii''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q24885369 Amanitaceae Agaricales genera