''Sulzbacheromyces fossicola'' is a species of

basidiolichen Basidiolichens are lichenized members of the Division (taxonomy), division Basidiomycota within the subkingdom Dikarya of the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Fungus, Fungi. They form a diverse yet much smaller group of lichens than the far more commo ...

in the family Lepidostromataceae. First described in 1950 by

E. J. H. Corner Edred John Henry Corner FRS (12 January 1906 – 14 September 1996) was an English mycologist and botanist who occupied the posts of assistant director at the Singapore Botanic Gardens (1929–1946) and Professor of Tropical Botany at the Univ ...

as ''Clavaria fossicola'', it is characterised by its dark green to indigo blue crusty growth form and distinctive white, club-shaped

fruiting 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 ...

that turn beige when dried. The species forms a thin layer on soil or rocks, where it lives in

symbiosis Symbiosis (Ancient Greek : living with, companionship < : together; and ''bíōsis'': living) is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction, between two organisms of different species. The two organisms, termed symbionts, can fo ...

with microscopic

green algae The green algae (: green alga) are a group of chlorophyll-containing autotrophic eukaryotes consisting of the phylum Prasinodermophyta and its unnamed sister group that contains the Chlorophyta and Charophyta/ Streptophyta. The land plants ...

. It is distributed across

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

and

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

Asia, from India to Singapore, where it specifically grows on exposed yellow and red clay soils in shaded locations. The species was transferred to ''

Sulzbacheromyces ''Sulzbacheromyces'' is a genus of basidiolichens in the family (biology), family Lepidostromataceae (the only family within the fungi, fungal order (biology), order Lepidostromatales). The genus is distinguished from the other genera of Lepidost ...

'' in 2017 based on

molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, ...

and morphological evidence.

Taxonomy

The lichen was first described as a new species in 1950 by

as ''Clavaria fossicola''.

Ron Petersen Ronald H. Petersen, more commonly known as Ron Petersen, born in 1934, is a mycologist and professor emeritus at the University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloq ...

reclassified it in the genus ''

Multiclavula ''Multiclavula'' is a genus of basidiolichens in the family Hydnaceae. The widespread genus contains 14 species.Reschke, K., Lotz-Winter, H., Fischer, C.W., Hofmann, T.A., Piepenbring, M., 2021. New and interesting species of Agaricomycetes from ...

'' in 1967. Dong Liu and Lisong Wang transferred it to genus ''

'' in 2017. Although they published the name with the spelling "fossicolus", it was corrected to "fossicola". It is closely related to '' S. bicolor'' but can be distinguished by its uniformly white colouration and the absence of a silvery coating () on its surface. Unlike ''S. bicolor'', it also lacks specialised fungal connections called

clamp connection A clamp connection is a hook-like structure formed by growing hyphal cells of certain fungi. It is a characteristic feature of basidiomycete fungi. It is created to ensure that each cell, or segment of hypha separated by septa (cross walls), rece ...

s in its cellular structure.

Description

The organism forms a distinct crusty layer (

thallus Thallus (: thalli), from Latinized Greek (), meaning "a green shoot" or "twig", is the vegetative tissue of some organisms in diverse groups such as algae, fungi, some liverworts, lichens, and the Myxogastria. A thallus usually names the entir ...

) on its , covering areas of 5–30 cm in diameter. This crust appears dark green to indigo blue and becomes darker with age. It contains clusters of single-celled

(known as algae) that are nearly spherical or elliptical in shape and are surrounded by transparent fungal threads (

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 ...

e). The most conspicuous features are its upright

, which are club-shaped or cylindrical, occasionally branching from the base. These structures reach 0.3–2.5 cm in height and are pale to creamy white when fresh, turning beige when dried. Under the microscope, the reproductive cells (

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 ...

) produce transparent, elliptical

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 ...

and possess 2–4 delicate protrusions (

sterigmata In biology, a sterigma (: sterigmata) is a small supporting structure. It commonly refers to an extension of the basidium (the spore-bearing cells) consisting of a basal filamentous part and a slender projection which carries a spore at the tip ...

) through which spores are released.

Habitat and distribution

''Sulzbacheromyces fossicola'' is found across

and

regions of Asia, including China, Singapore, northern India, and Thailand. It specifically grows on yellow and red clay soils or rocks that have been exposed to the elements for two to three years, preferring shaded locations. While initially discovered in Singapore in 1950, subsequent discoveries have shown it to be widespread across southern Asia, though its preferred habitat requirements may limit its local abundance.

References

{{Taxonbar , from1=Q108417435 , from2=Q59539301 , from3=Q10590108 Lepidostromatales Lichen species Lichens described in 1950 Lichens of Asia Basidiolichens Taxa named by E. J. H. Corner