A lichen is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship. Lichens are important actors in nutrient cycling and act as producers which many higher trophic feeders feed on, such as reindeer, gastropods, nematodes, mites, and springtails. Lichens have properties different from those of their component organisms. They come in many colors, sizes, and forms and are sometimes plant-like, but are not plants. They may have tiny, leafless branches (fruticose); flat leaf-like structures (foliose); grow crust-like, adhering tightly to a surface (substrate) like a thick coat of paint (crustose); have a powder-like appearance (leprose); or other growth forms.
Hydnum repandum, commonly known as the sweet tooth, pig's trotter, wood hedgehog or hedgehog mushroom, is a basidiomycete fungus of the family Hydnaceae. First described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, it is the type species of the genus Hydnum. The fungus produces fruit bodies (mushrooms) that are characterized by their spore-bearing structures—in the form of spines rather than gills—which hang down from the underside of the cap. The cap is dry, colored yellow to light orange to brown, and often develops an irregular shape, especially when it has grown closely crowded with adjacent fruit bodies. The mushroom tissue is white with a pleasant odor and a spicy or bitter taste. All parts of the mushroom stain orange with age or when bruised.
Hydnellum is a genus of tooth fungi in the family Bankeraceae. Widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, the genus contains around 40 species. The fruitbodies of its members grow by slowly enveloping nearby bits of grass and vegetation. There is great variability in the form of Hydnellum fruitbodies, which are greatly influenced by environmental conditions such as rainfall and humidity, drying winds, and temperature. They are too tough and woody to eat comfortably. Several species have become the focus of increasing conservation concern following widespread declines in abundance.
The Hydnaceae are a family of fungi in the order Cantharellales. Originally the family encompassed all species of fungi that produced basidiocarps having a hymenium consisting of slender, downward-hanging tapering extensions referred to as "spines" or "teeth", whether they were related or not. This artificial but often useful grouping is now more generally called the hydnoid or tooth fungi. In the strict, modern sense, the Hydnaceae are limited to the genus Hydnum and related genera, with basidiocarps having a toothed or poroid hymenium. Species in the family are ectomycorrhizal, forming a mutually beneficial relationship with the roots of trees and other plants. Hydnum repandum is an edible species, commercially collected in some countries and often marketed under the French name pied de mouton.
Ramariopsis is a genus of coral fungi in the family Clavariaceae. The genus has a collectively widespread distribution and contains about 40 species. The name means 'having the appearance of Ramaria'.
Ramariopsis kunzei is an edible species of coral fungi in the family Clavariaceae, and the type species of the genus Ramariopsis. It is commonly known as white coral because of the branched structure of the fruit bodies that resemble marine coral. The fruit bodies are up to 5 cm (2.0 in) tall by 4 cm (1.6 in) wide, with numerous branches originating from a short rudimentary stem. The branches are one to two millimeters thick, smooth, and white, sometimes with yellowish tips in age. Ramariopsis kunzei has a widespread distribution, and is found in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Clavaria is a genus of fungi in the family Clavariaceae. Species of Clavaria produce basidiocarps that are either cylindrical to club-shaped or branched and coral-like. They are often grouped with similar-looking species from other genera, when they are collectively known as the clavarioid fungi. All Clavaria species are terrestrial and most are believed to be saprotrophic. In Europe, they are typical of old, mossy, unimproved grassland. In North America and elsewhere, they are more commonly found in woodlands.
Dictyonema is a genus of mainly tropical basidiolichens in the family Hygrophoraceae.
Clavaria fragilis, commonly known as fairy fingers, white worm coral, or white spindles, is a species of fungus in the family Clavariaceae. It is synonymous with Clavaria vermicularis. The fungus is the type species of the genus Clavaria and is a typical member of the clavarioid or club fungi. It produces tubular, unbranched, white basidiocarps that typically grow in clusters. The fruit bodies can reach dimensions of 15 cm (5.9 in) tall by 0.5 cm (0.2 in) thick. Clavaria fragilis is a saprobic species, growing in woodland litter or in old, unimproved grassland. It is widespread throughout temperate regions in the Northern Hemisphere, but has also been reported from Australia and South Africa. The fungus is edible, but insubstantial and flavorless. There are several other small white coral-like fungi with which C. fragilis may be confused.
Clavaria zollingeri, commonly known as the violet coral or the magenta coral, is a widely distributed species of fungus. It produces striking tubular, purple to pinkish-violet fruit bodies that grow up to 10 cm (3.9 in) tall and 7 cm (2.8 in) wide. The extreme tips of the fragile, slender branches are usually rounded and brownish. A typical member of the clavarioid or club fungi, Clavaria zollingeri is saprobic, and so derives nutrients by breaking down organic matter. The fruit bodies are typically found growing on the ground in woodland litter, or in grasslands. Variations in branching and color can often be used to distinguish C. zollingeri from similarly colored coral fungi such as Alloclavaria purpurea and Clavulina amethystina, although microscopy is required to reliably identify the latter species.
Clavariadelphus ligula, commonly known as the strap coral, is a species of fungus in the family Gomphaceae. It produces club-shaped fruit bodies with spongy flesh that grow in groups on the forest floor. It is found in Asia, Europe, and North America.
Sistotrema is a genus of fungi in the family Hydnaceae. The genus contains at least 55 species and has a worldwide distribution. The type species is Sistotrema confluens Pers. (1794).
Lepidostromatales is an order of fungi in the class Agaricomycetes. It is the only known order of basidiomycete fungi composed entirely of lichenized members. Morphologically, the fruiting bodies of all species are clavarioid. Six species are known, five of which were described within the span of 2007–2013. Due to its morphological similarity to the genus Multiclavula, its isolated phylogenetic position was not understood until quite recently. The photobionts that have been found in association with members of this group are not known to associate with any other types of lichenized fungi.
Ertzia is a monospecific genus in the family Lepidostromataceae. The sole species is Ertzia akagerae. The genus was circumscribed in 2014 by Brendan Hodkinson and Robert Lücking. Ertzia is distinguished from all other lichenized clavarioid fungi by having a microsquamulose thallus that forms contiguous glomerules with a cortex of jigsaw puzzle-shaped cells. Ertzia akagerae grows on soil in the African tropics.
Sulzbacheromyces is a genus of basidiolichens in the family Lepidostromataceae. The genus is distinguished from the other genera of Lepidostromataceae by having an entirely crustose thallus and from Multiclavula (Cantharellales) by having a chlorococcoid photobiont. The type species grows on soil in the neotropics.
Multiclavula vernalis or the orange club-mushroom lichen is a species of clavarioid fungus in the Clavulinaceae family. It was originally named as a species of Clavaria in 1822 by Lewis David de Schweinitz. Ronald H. Petersen transferred it to Multiclavula in 1967.
Clavulinopsis sulcata is a clavarioid fungus in the family Clavariaceae and is the type species of the genus Clavulinopsis. It forms very long, slender, cylindrical pinkish or orange fruiting bodies that grow on the ground among plant litter.
Mycetinis kallioneus is a mushroom formerly in the genus Marasmius, which grows with dwarf shrubs and flowering plants in an arctic environment where the ground is covered by snow for much of the year.
Multiclavula petricola is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) basidiolichen in the family Hygrophoraceae. Found in Japan, it was formally described as a new species in 2020 by Hiroshi Masumoto and Yousuke Degawa. The type specimen was collected from Katashina at an altitude of 1,757 m (5,764 ft); here, in a shady coniferous forest, it was found growing on wet volcanic rock. The lichen makes tiny white fruitbodies and has a globular thallus. It is only known from the type locality. The photobiont partner of the lichen is the green algae that lives on the rock surface. The Latin species epithet petricola means "dweller on rocks". The Japanese name Iwa-no-shira-tsuno combines the Japanese words iwa-no with shira ("white") and tsuno ("horns").
Multiclavula ichthyiformis is a species of terricolous (ground-dwelling) basidiolichen in the family Hygrophoraceae. Found in Costa Rica, it was formally described as a new species in 2007 by Matthew Nelsen, Robert Lücking, Loengrin Umaña, Marie Trest, and Susan Will-Wolf. The type collection was collected in the Macizo de la Muerte section of Tapantí National Park at an elevation of 2,700 m (8,900 ft). Here, in a disturbed high-altitude peat bog in a rainforest, it was found growing on the ground along a brook and a road bank.
