The Thelephorales are an

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

in the

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

Agaricomycetes The Agaricomycetes are a class of fungi in the division Basidiomycota. The taxon is roughly identical to that defined for the Homobasidiomycetes (alternatively called holobasidiomycetes) by Hibbett & Thorn, with the inclusion of Auriculariales ...

. The order includes

corticioid The corticioid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota typically having effused, smooth basidiocarps (fruit bodies) that are formed on the undersides of dead tree trunks or branches. They are sometimes colloquially called crust fungi or pa ...

and

hydnoid fungi 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 ge ...

, together with a few

polypores Polypores, also called bracket or shelf fungi, are a morphological group of basidiomycete-like gilled mushrooms and hydnoid fungi that form large fruiting bodies called conks, which are typically woody, circular, shelf- or bracket-shaped, ...

and

clavarioid The clavarioid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota typically having erect, simple or branched basidiocarps (fruit bodies) that are formed on the ground, on decaying vegetation, or on dead wood. They are colloquially called club fungi a ...

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), ...

. Most fungi within the Thelephorales are

ectomycorrhizal 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 mycobion ...

. None is of any great economic importance, though ''

Sarcodon imbricatus ''Sarcodon imbricatus'', commonly known as the shingled hedgehog or scaly hedgehog, is a species of tooth fungus in the order Thelephorales. The mushroom has a large, brownish cap with large brown scales and may reach 30 cm (12 in) in d ...

'' is edible and commercially marketed, whilst several species have been used for craft

dye Juan de Guillebon, better known by his stage name DyE, is a French musician. He is known for the music video of the single "Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical ele ...

ing.

Taxonomy

History

Though "the Thelephorales" were referred to in passing 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 ...

in 1968, the order was not formally published till 1976 when German

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and ...

Franz Oberwinkler first described it as encompassing the

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

Thelephoraceae The Thelephoraceae are a family of fungi in the order Thelephorales. This grouping of mushrooms is commonly known as the "leathery earthfans". Genera The family includes the following eight genera: * '' Amaurodon'' * '' Hypochnus'' * '' Lenzit ...

and

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 t ...

. As originally conceived, species within the order had diverse

basidiocarp In fungi, a basidiocarp, basidiome, or basidioma () is the sporocarp of a basidiomycete, the multicellular structure on which the spore-producing hymenium is borne. Basidiocarps are characteristic of the hymenomycetes; rusts and smuts do no ...

(fruit body) forms, but shared several features in common, notably similarities in

basidiospore A basidiospore is a reproductive spore produced by basidiomycete fungi, a grouping that includes mushrooms, shelf fungi, rusts, and smuts. Basidiospores typically each contain one haploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromos ...

shape (most having spiny to warted, often lobed spores) and similarities in basidiocarp colours, linked to the presence of thelephoric acid derivatives and often accompanied by blue to greenish reactions with

alkalis In chemistry, an alkali (; from the Arabic word , ) is a basic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7.0. The a ...

Current status

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, ...

research, based on

cladistic Cladistics ( ; from Ancient Greek 'branch') is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups ("clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is ...

analysis of

DNA sequences A nucleic acid sequence is a succession of bases within the nucleotides forming alleles within a DNA (using GACT) or RNA (GACU) molecule. This succession is denoted by a series of a set of five different letters that indicate the order of the ...

, has supported the morphological concept of the Thelephorales, indicating that the order forms a distinct grouping within the Agaricomycetes, close to the

Polyporales The Polyporales are an order (biology), order of about 1,800 species of fungi in the division (mycology), division Basidiomycota. The order includes some (but not all) polypores as well as many corticioid fungi and a few agarics (mainly in the ge ...

Distribution and habitat

All fungi within the order are

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 ...

l, forming mutually beneficial associations with the roots of living trees. Distribution of the Thelephorales is

cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...

. According to a 2008 estimate, the order contains 18

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

and over 250 species worldwide.

Economic importance

'' is an edible species collected for local markets in some countries and commercially collected in China for export as a dried product. ''

Polyozellus multiplex ''Polyozellus multiplex'' is a species complex of fungi first described in 1899. ''P. multiplex'' is commonly known as the blue chanterelle, the purple chanterelle, or, in Alaska, the black chanterelle. However, this mushroom is not closel ...

'' is also edible and collected for sale in North America. Several species within the Thelephorales have been used for

ing wool by modern craft-dyers, including '' Hydnellum caeruleum'' in North America, '' Sarcodon squamosus'' in Scandinavia, and '' Thelephora palmata'' in Scotland. File:Thelephora.terrestris2.-.lindsey.jpg, File:Hydnellum ferrugineum 59267.jpg, File:Polyozellus multiplex -Haida Guaii.jpg,

References

{{Authority control Basidiomycota orders Taxa named by Franz Oberwinkler Taxa described in 1976