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Phallaceae is a family of fungi, commonly known as stinkhorns, within the order Phallales. Stinkhorns have a worldwide distribution, but are especially prevalent in tropical regions. They are known for their foul-smelling, sticky spore masses, or gleba, borne on the end of a stalk called the receptaculum. The characteristic fruiting-body structure, a single, unbranched receptaculum with an externally attached gleba on the upper part, distinguishes the Phallaceae from other families in the Phallales. The spore mass typically smells of carrion or dung, and attracts flies, beetles and other insects to help disperse the spores. Although there is great diversity in body structure shape among the various genera, all species in the Phallaceae begin their development as oval or round structures known as "eggs". The appearance of Phallaceae is often sudden, as gleba can erupt from the underground egg and burst open within an hour. According to a 2008 estimate, the family contains 21 genera and 77 species.
Cuphophyllus is a genus of agaric fungi in the family Hygrophoraceae. Cuphophyllus species belong to a group known as waxcaps in English, sometimes also waxy caps in North America or waxgills in New Zealand. In Europe, Cuphophyllus species are typical of waxcap grasslands, a declining habitat due to changing agricultural practices. As a result, four species, Cuphophyllus atlanticus, C. colemannianus, C. lacmus, and C. lepidopus are of global conservation concern and are listed as "vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
The Fungi of Australia form an enormous and phenomenally diverse group, a huge range of freshwater, marine and terrestrial habitats with many ecological roles, for example as saprobes, parasites and mutualistic symbionts of algae, animals and plants, and as agents of biodeterioration. Where plants produce, and animals consume, the fungi recycle, and as such they ensure the sustainability of ecosystems.
Armillaria luteobubalina, commonly known as the Australian honey fungus, is a species of mushroom in the family Physalacriaceae. Widely distributed in southern Australia, the fungus is responsible for a disease known as Armillaria root rot, a primary cause of Eucalyptus tree death and forest dieback. It is the most pathogenic and widespread of the six Armillaria species found in Australia. The fungus has also been collected in Argentina and Chile. Fruit bodies have cream- to tan-coloured caps that grow up to 10 cm (4 in) in diameter and stems that measure up to 20 cm (8 in) long by 1.5 cm (1 in) thick. The fruit bodies, which appear at the base of infected trees and other woody plants in autumn (March–April), are edible, but require cooking to remove the bitter taste. The fungus is dispersed through spores produced on gills on the underside of the caps, and also by growing vegetatively through the root systems of host trees. The ability of the fungus to spread vegetatively is facilitated by an aerating system that allows it to efficiently diffuse oxygen through rhizomorphs—rootlike structures made of dense masses of hyphae.
Grevillea arenaria, commonly known as sand grevillea or hoary grevillea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a spreading shrub with elliptic to egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, and red, pink or orange flowers.
Banksiamyces is a genus of fungi in the order Helotiales, with a tentative placement in the family Helotiaceae. The genus contains four species, which grow on the seed follicles of the dead infructescences or "cones" of various species of Banksia, a genus in the plant family Proteaceae endemic to Australia. Fruit bodies of the fungus appear as small, shallow dark cups on the follicles of the Banksia fruit. The edges of dry fruit bodies fold inwards, appearing like narrow slits. The first specimens of Banksiamyces, known then as Tympanis toomansis, were described in 1887. Specimens continued to be collected occasionally for almost 100 years before becoming examined more critically in the early 1980s, leading to the creation of a new genus to contain what was determined to be three distinct species, B. katerinae, B. macrocarpus, and B. toomansis. A fourth species, B. maccannii, was added in 1984.
Royoungia is a fungal genus in the family Boletaceae. This genus is represented by the type species Royoungia boletoides, which was found in Australia. In 2016, 5 more species were found in China.
Blancoa is a monotypic genus of perennial herbs in the family Haemodoraceae; the single species is Blancoa canescens, commonly known as the winter bell. It is endemic to the southwestern corner of Western Australia. It has nodding red to pink flowers, a clumping habit and grows to be 10 to 40 cm in height. The genus is named in honour of Francisco Manuel Blanco, a Spanish friar and botanist who compiled the first comprehensive flora of the Philippines.
Pisolithus is a genus of fungi within the family Sclerodermataceae.
Descolea is a genus of fungi in the family Bolbitiaceae. Described by mycologist Rolf Singer in 1952, the widespread genus contains about 15 species. It was formerly placed in the family Cortinariaceae because of its limoniform basidiospores and its ectomycorrhizal lifestyle. A 2013 molecular phylogenetics study by Tóth et al. found it to be closely related to the genus Pholiotina The genus Pseudodescolea, erected for the single Descolea-like species Pseudodescolea lepiotiformis, was formerly considered distinct until a 1990 study found it to be a synonym of Descolea antarctica.
Banksiamyces toomansis is a species of fungus in the family Helotiaceae. It was first described as Tympanis toomansis by Miles Joseph Berkeley and Christopher Edmund Broome in 1886, and transferred to the genus Encoelia in 1957 by R.W.G. Dennis. Gordon William Beaton transferred it to Banksiamyces in 1982.
Mycoamaranthus is a genus of fungi in the family Boletaceae. The genus contains three species, found in Australasia, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
Malajczukia is a genus of truffle-like fungi in the Mesophelliaceae family. The genus contains eight species found in Australia and New Zealand.
Nothocastoreum is a fungal genus in the Mesophelliaceae family. The genus is monotypic, containing the single truffle-like species Nothocastoreum cretaceum, found in Australia.
Penicillium canescens is an anamorph fungus species of the genus of Penicillium which was isolated from soil of the United Kingdom. Penicillium canescens produces the antibiotic canescin.
Cuphophyllus canescens is a species of agaric in the family Hygrophoraceae, known from North America. In its wide sense it has been assessed as globally "vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Xanthorrhoea gracilis, commonly known as the graceful grasstree, grassboy or mimidi, is a species of grasstree of the genus Xanthorrhoea native to Western Australia.
Terminalia canescens, commonly known as joolal, winged nut tree, or wingnut, and also known by its Aboriginal name djilanydjin in north-western Australia, is a tree of the family Combretaceae native to northern parts of Australia.
Cuphophyllus atlanticus is a species of agaric in the family Hygrophoraceae. Until recently (2021), the species was considered to be conspecific with the North American Cuphophyllus canescens, but DNA sequencing has shown that it is distinct. As C. canescens, it has been given the recommended English name of felted waxcap in the United Kingdom. Cuphophyllus atlanticus has a European and North American distribution, occurring in Europe mainly in agriculturally unimproved grassland. Threats to its habitat have resulted in C. canescens being assessed as globally "vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
References
- ↑ "Protubera canescens G.W. Beaton & Malajczuk 1986". MycoBank. International Mycological Association. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
- ↑ Beaton G, Malajczuk N. (1986). "New species of Gelopellis and Protubera from Western Australia". Transactions of the British Mycological Society. 87 (3): 478–82. doi:10.1016/s0007-1536(86)80230-3.