| Platycarpa | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Pucciniomycetes |
| Order: | Platygloeales |
| Family: | Eocronartiaceae |
| Genus: | Platycarpa |
| Species: | P. polypodii |
| Binomial name | |
| Platycarpa polypodii (Couch) Couch (1949) | |
| Synonyms | |
Septobasidium polypodiiCouch (1929) | |
Platycarpa is a genus of fungus in the order Platygloeales, [1] containing the single species Platycarpa polypodii. The species forms effused basidiocarps (fruit bodies) on ferns, on which it is parasitic.
The known host for Platycarpa polypodii is a fern in the genus Polypodium . [2] The fungus parasitizes host leaves, producing basidiocarps as small whitish patches covering the sori. Microscopically, the basidia are auricularioid (tubular with lateral septa) and emerge from thin-walled probasidia. The species was originally described by American mycologist John N. Couch based on a collection from Jamaica. [2] A second species, Platycarpa boliviensis, is now considered a synonym of Ptechetelium cyatheae . [2]