''Sulzbacheromyces sinensis'' 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. It is found in Asia.

Taxonomy

The species was first

scientifically described A species description is a formal scientific description of a newly encountered species, typically articulated through a scientific publication. Its purpose is to provide a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it diffe ...

in 1986 by the mycologists

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 ...

and

Mu Zang Mu Zang (28 December 1930 – 10 November 2011) was a Chinese mycologist. He was known for his research on the Boletales of China, and the ecology and biogeography of fungi in southwestern China. He described more than 140 new species and circu ...

, who initially classified 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 ...

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

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. The species shows considerable variation in its appearance depending on environmental conditions, and was also independently described from Japan as ''Lepidostroma asianum'', which is now considered a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely 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 a ...

Description

The organism forms a distinctive crusty layer on its , covering areas of 5–70 cm in diameter. This crust appears green to dark green when fresh but becomes silvery and shiny when dried, with a distinctive white to grey coating. The most conspicuous features are its upright

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 ...

, which reach up to 5.5 cm in height. These structures are yellow to reddish-orange when fresh, turning

ochre Ochre ( ; , ), iron ochre, or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colou ...

when dried, and occasionally branch at the tip. They emerge from a pale grey to pink patch and always have a white woolly coating at their base. Each fruiting body develops cracks around its circumference when mature and has a blunt tip that becomes pointed when young or exposed to direct sunlight. The fungus has no distinct taste but produces a

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the n ...

-like odour.

Habitat and distribution

''Sulzbacheromyces sinensis'' is found 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 ...

regions of East Asia, including various provinces of China (

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

) as well as

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

and Japan. It grows specifically on red sandy soil and around the base of rocks, particularly in areas that have been exposed for two to three years in newly cultivated areas. The species shows considerable adaptability to different environmental conditions, with its appearance varying notably depending on whether it grows on soil or rock, in direct or indirect light, and in high or low humidity environments.

References

{{Taxonbar , from1=Q108417438 , from2=Q10590113 , from3=Q107975361 Lepidostromatales Lichen species Lichens described in 1986 Lichens of Asia Basidiolichens Taxa named by Ron Petersen Taxa named by Mu Zang