Chlorociboria aeruginascens

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Chlorociboria aeruginascens
Chlorociboria aeruginascens-336907.jpg
The green elfcup, Chlorociboria aeruginascens
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Leotiomycetes
Order: Helotiales
Family: Chlorociboriaceae
Genus: Chlorociboria
Species:
C. aeruginascens
Binomial name
Chlorociboria aeruginascens
Kanouse ex C.S. Ramamurthi, Korf & L.R. Batra (1957)
Synonyms

Chlorociboria aeruginascens
(Nyl.) Kanouse
Chlorosplenium aeruginascens
(Nyl.) P. Karst.
Peziza aeruginascens
Nyl.

Contents

Chlorociboria aeruginascens
Mycological characteristics
Smooth icon.pngSmooth hymenium
No cap icon.svgNo distinct cap
NA cap icon.svg Hymenium attachment is irregular or not applicable
Bare stipe icon.svg Stipe is bare
Saprotrophic fungus.svgEcology is saprotrophic

Chlorociboria aeruginascens is a saprobic species of mushroom, commonly known as the blue stain, [1] green elfcup [2] or the green wood cup [3] because of its characteristic small, green, saucer-shaped fruit bodies. The actual fruit bodies are infrequently seen, with the fungus usually observed through the green staining of wood it causes. [4]

Taxonomy

The specific epithet is derived from the Latin roots aerug- ("blue-green") and ascens ("becoming"). [5] Some authors have used a variant spelling of the specific epithet, aeruginescens. [6] [7] [8]

Description

This species has apothecia (cup-shaped ascocarps) that are usually attached laterally, often less than 0.5 centimetres (1⁄4 in) in diameter, collapsing laterally and becoming rolled inwards when dry. The outer tissue layer of the apothecium, known as the ectal excipulum, has a delicate tomentose surface composed of hair-like, straight or sometimes coiled, smooth hyphae. The stipe is typically less than 3 mm long, with a central or eccentric attachment to the apothecia. The spores are roughly spindle-shaped (fusiform), smooth, and 5–8 by 0.7–2.8  μm. [9] The spore print is white. [10] Apothecia grow on bark-free wood, especially oak, part of which at least is stained greenish by the mycelium. The abundant paraphyses, which may be entwined, are 55–95 by 1.5–2 μm, filiform, and septate with an unswollen, unbent apex that often extends beyond the level of the asci tips. [11]

Similar species

The species is distinguished from the closely related Chlorociboria aeruginosa by having smaller spores. Although some authors have in the past failed to recognize any appreciable differences between the two species, [6] [7] [12] Ramamurthi and colleagues note [9] that not only are the spore sizes different, but C. aeruginascens have smooth tomentum hyphae, in contrast with the roughened hyphae of C. aeruginosa. C. aeruginascens is inedible. [13]

"Green oak"

This species contains a quinone pigment called xylindein, [14] [15] a dimeric naphthoquinone derivative, whose structure was determined by spectroscopic means in the 1960s [16] and later confirmed by X-ray crystallography. [17] It is this compound that is responsible for the characteristic bluish-green stain of wood infected by this species, used today in decorative woodworking such as Tunbridge ware [1] and parquetry. [18] The use of this wood, known as "green oak", goes back to 15th-century Italy, where it was used in intarsia panels made by Fra Giovanni da Veroni. [19]

References

  1. 1 2 Arora, David (1986) [1979]. Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi (2nd ed.). Berkeley, California: Ten Speed Press. p. 878. ISBN   978-0-89815-170-1.
  2. ↑ "Rogers Mushrooms | Mushroom Pictures & Mushroom Reference". Archived from the original on 2008-10-12. Retrieved 2008-12-08.
  3. ↑ "Borescope-Chlorociboria aeruginascens" . Retrieved 2008-12-09.
  4. ↑ Dickinson, Colin; Lucas, John (1979). The Encyclopedia of Mushrooms (1st ed.). London: Orbis Publishing Ltd. p. 119. ISBN   978-0399121043.
  5. ↑ "Chlorociboria aeruginascens" . Retrieved 2008-12-09.
  6. 1 2 Seaver FJ. (1936). Photographs and descriptions of cup-fungi-XXIV. Chlorociboria. Mycologia 28: 390–394.
  7. 1 2 Seaver FJ. (1951). The North American Cup-Fungi (Inoperculates). New York. Pp. 1–428.
  8. ↑ Velenovský J. (1934). Monographia Discomycetum Bohemiae. 1: 1–436. 2: pl. 1–31. Prague.
  9. 1 2 Ramamurthi CS, Korf RP, Batra LR. (1957). A revision of the North American species of Chlorociboria (Sclerotiniaceae). Mycologia 49(6): 854–863.
  10. ↑ McNeil, Raymond (2015). Champignons du Québec (in French) (Reviewed and Expanded ed.). Éditions Michel Quintin. p. 61. ISBN   9782894357712.
  11. ↑ Bougher, Neale L.; Syme, Katrina (1998). Fungi of Southern Australia - Google Book Search. University of Western Australia Press. ISBN   9781875560806 . Retrieved 2008-12-09.
  12. ↑ Dennis RWG. (1956). A revision of the British Helotiaceae in the herbarium of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, with notes on related European species. Commonwealth Myc. Inst. Myc. Papers62: 1–216.
  13. ↑ Phillips, Roger (2010). Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America . Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books. p.  376. ISBN   978-1-55407-651-2.
  14. ↑ Schmidt O. (1994). Holz- und Baumpilze. Biologie, Schiden, Schutz, Nutzen. Berlin/Heidelberg. pp 92–93.
  15. ↑ Maeda M, Yamauchi T, Oshima K, Shimomura M, Miyauchis, Mukae K, Sakaki T, Shibata M, Wakamatsu K. (2003). Extraction of Xylindein from Chlorociboria aeruginosa complex and its biological characteristics. Technical report of the Technological University of Nagaoka25: 105–111.
  16. ↑ R. L. Edwards and N. Kale, Tetrahedron 1965, 21, 2095–2107
  17. ↑ Saikawa Y, Watanabe T, Hashimoto K, Nakata M. (2000). Absolute configuration and tautomeric structure of xylindein, a blue–green pigment of Chlorociboria species. Phytochemistry55(3): 237–240.
  18. ↑ Wickens, G.E. (2004). Economic Botany: Principles and Practices. Springer. p. 566. ISBN   1-4020-2228-X . Retrieved 2008-12-09.
  19. ↑ Blanchette RA, Wilmering AM, Baumeister M. (1992). The use of green-stained wood caused by the fungus Chlorociboria in intarsia masterpieces from the 15th century. Holzforschung46(3): 225–232.
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