''Sarcodon thwaitesii'' is a species of

tooth fungus The hydnoid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota with basidiocarps (fruit bodies) producing spores on pendant, tooth-like or spine-like projections. They are colloquially called tooth fungi. Originally such fungi were referred to the g ...

in the family

Bankeraceae The ''Bankeraceae'' are a family of fungi in the order Thelephorales. Taxa are terrestrial, and ectomycorrhizal with plant species in families such as Pinaceae or Fagaceae. The family was circumscribed by Marinus Anton Donk in 1961. According ...

. It is found in Asia, Europe, and New Zealand, where it fruits on the ground in mixed forest.

Taxonomy

The fungus was first described in 1873 by

Miles Berkeley Miles Joseph Berkeley (1 April 1803 – 30 July 1889) was an English cryptogamist and clergyman, and one of the founders of the science of plant pathology. Life Berkeley was born at Biggin Hall, Benefield, Northamptonshire, and educated at R ...

and Christopher Edmund Broome as ''Hydnum thwaitesii'', from collections made in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Paul Christoph Hennings Paul Christoph Hennings (November 27, 1841 – October 14, 1908) was a German mycologist and herbarium curator. He discovered the study of cryptogams and mushrooms as a volunteer at the botanical garden. Although circumstances initially prevent ...

moved it to the now-defunct genus ''Phaeodon'' in 1898. Dutch mycologist Rudolph Arnold Maas Geesteranus transferred it to the genus ''

Sarcodon ''Sarcodon'' is a genus of fungi in the family Bankeraceae, which is part of the order Thelephorales The Thelephorales are an order of fungi in the class Agaricomycetes. The order includes corticioid and hydnoid fungi, together with a few ...

'' in 1964, noting "To judge from the hyphal structure and the spore characters, this is a true ''Sarcodon''".

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 ...

's species ''Hydnum carbonarium'', described from New Zealand in 1958, is a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

of ''S. thwaitesii''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''thwaitesii'' honors English botanist and entomologist George Henry Kendrick Thwaites, who was superintendent of the botanical gardens at

Peradeniya Peradeniya ( si, පේරාදෙණිය, translit=Pēradeniya; ta, பேராதனை, translit=Pērātaṉai) is a suburb of the city of Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a m ...

, Sri Lanka. Maas Geesteranus placed ''S. thwaitesii'' in the section ''Virescentes'', along with '' S. atroviridis'' and '' S. conchyliatus''. In all of these species, the flesh dries to a deep olive green color.

Description

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 ...

of ''Sarcodon thwaitesii'' have flattened, depressed, or rounded caps measuring in diameter. Initially pale pink in color, they change to pale reddish-brown, and ultimately to blackish-brown. The flesh, roughly the same color as the cap, has a bitter taste. The stipe is centrally attached to the cap, and measure long by at the top. The spines on the cap underside are at first purple or purple brown, drying to blackish brown in age, and measure 2–4 mm. Spores are brown in mass; microscopically, they are roughly spherical, covered with moderate sized growths (tubercules), and measure 6–8 by 6–7

μm The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...

Habitat and distribution

''Sarcodon thwaitesii'' fruits on the ground in mixed forest. It is found in Asia, Europe, and New Zealand.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q10661777 Fungi described in 1873 Fungi of Asia Fungi of Europe Fungi of New Zealand thwaitesii Taxa named by Miles Joseph Berkeley Taxa named by Christopher Edmund Broome Fungus species