| Serpula | |
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| Serpula lacrymans | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
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| Genus: | Serpula |
| Type species | |
| Serpula destruens | |
| Species | |
See text | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
Serpula is a genus of fungi in the family Serpulaceae.
| Serpula | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Serpula lacrymans | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Division: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Family: | |
| Genus: | Serpula |
| Type species | |
| Serpula destruens | |
| Species | |
See text | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
Serpula is a genus of fungi in the family Serpulaceae.
The term was originally defined by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon as a section of the genus Merulius in 1801. [2] British botanist Samuel Frederick Gray raised it to genus status in his 1821 work The Natural Arrangement of British Plants. [3] The name is derived from the Latin verb serpěre "to creep". [4] Synonyms include Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link's 1809 Xylophagous, Christian Hendrik Persoon's 1825 Xylomyzon, Narcisse Théophile Patouillard's 1874 Gyrophora, and Patouillard's 1897 Gyrophana. [1]
Serpula forms a clade with at least two other closely related genera, Austropaxillus and Gymnopaxillus , the three composing the family Serpulaceae. [5] It is thought that the common ancestor was saprotrophic, and that ancestor to the latter two genera became mycorrhizal. Using molecular clock analysis, the split between Austropaxillus and Serpula has been estimated to have occurred about 34.9 mya, roughly coinciding with the separation of South America and Australia from Antarctica. [5]
The number of species is uncertain – the two species S. lacrymans and S. himantioides have been considered to be a single species, or the latter species has possibly five cryptic species within its complex. [5]
The members of the genus Serpula form flat brown fruit bodies that cover the surface they are growing on (known as the substrate). The hymenophore, or spore-forming surface, generally has a wrinkled appearance. [5]
The species grow on, and digest, mainly coniferous wood, causing a process known as brown rot. One species, dry rot ( S. lacrymans ), is a highly destructive agent of houses. [5] Damp structural timber is an ideal substrate for the germination of Serpula spores. The fungal hyphae penetrate the wood and release enzymes that break down structural polysaccharides such as cellulose. There may be no external indications that the fungus is present until the rot is far advanced and fruit bodies are formed. The strand mycelium of Serpula, which can be up to 8 mm thick, are invasive and can spread over non-nutritive surfaces [6] to find new food sources, even spreading through pores in stone, brickwork, and cement. After its initial growth period, the fungus can produce the water it needs and can continue growth into dry timber, eventually degrading it to powder—hence the term "dry rot". S. lacrymans is the most serious cause of building timber decay in the UK and northern Europe. [7]
The Dictionary of the Fungi (10th edition, 2008), suggests that the genus contains two species. [8] As of December 2014 [update] , the nomenclatural database Index Fungorum indicates 11 species: [9]
Dry rot is wood decay caused by one of several species of fungi that digest parts of the wood which give the wood strength and stiffness. It was previously used to describe any decay of cured wood in ships and buildings by a fungus which resulted in a darkly colored deteriorated and cracked condition.
Serpula lacrymans is one of the fungi that cause damage to timber referred to as dry rot. It is a basidiomycete in the order Boletales. The Serpula lacrymans has the ability to rapidly colonise sites through unique and highly specialised mycelium which also leads to greater degradation rates of wood cellulose.
The genus Phallus, commonly known as stinkhorns, is a group of basidiomycetes which produce a phallic, often foul-scented mushroom, from which their name is derived. The genus has a widespread distribution and, according to a 2008 estimate, contains 18 species. They belong to the family Phallaceae in the order Phallales. The best known species is the common stinkhorn.
Daedaleopsis confragosa, commonly known as the thin walled maze polypore or the blushing bracket, is a species of polypore fungus in the family Polyporaceae. A plant pathogen, it causes a white rot of injured hardwoods, especially willows. The fruit bodies are semicircular and tough, have a concentrically zoned brownish upper surface, and measure up to 20 cm (8 in) in diameter. The whitish underside turns gray-brown as the fruit body ages, but bruises pink or red. It is found all year and is common in northern temperate woodlands of eastern North America, Europe, and Asia. The species was first described from Europe in 1791 as a form of Boletus, and has undergone several changes of genus in its taxonomic history. It acquired its current name when Joseph Schröter transferred it to Daedaleopsis in 1888.
Ramaria formosa, commonly known as the salmon coral, beautiful clavaria, handsome clavaria, yellow-tipped- or pink coral fungus, is a coral fungus found in Europe. It is widely held to be mildly poisonous if consumed, giving rise to acute gastrointestinal symptoms of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and colicky pain. It is a pinkish, much-branched coral-shape reaching some 20 cm (8 in) high. Similar forms collected in North America are now considered to represent a different species than the European Ramaria formosa.
Bisporella citrina, commonly known as yellow fairy cups or lemon discos, is a species of fungus in the family Helotiaceae. The fungus produces tiny yellow cups up to 3 mm in diameter, often without stalks, that fruit in groups or dense clusters on decaying deciduous wood that has lost its bark. The widely distributed species is found in North Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and Central and South America. Found in late summer and autumn, the fungus is fairly common, but is easily overlooked owing to its small size. There are several similar species that can in most cases be distinguished by differences in color, morphology, or substrate. Microscopically, B. citrina can be distinguished from these lookalikes by its elliptical spores, which have a central partition, and an oil drop at each end.
Gomphus clavatus, commonly known as pig's ears or the violet chanterelle, is an edible species of fungus in the genus Gomphus native to Eurasia and North America. The fruit body is vase- or fan-shaped with wavy edges to its rim, and grows up to 15–16 cm wide and 17 cm tall. The upper surface or cap is orangish-brown to lilac, while the lower spore-bearing surface, the hymenium, is covered in wrinkles and ridges rather than gills or pores, and is a distinctive purple color. Described by Jacob Christian Schäffer in 1774, G. clavatus has had several name changes and many alternative scientific names, having been classified in the genus Cantharellus, though it is not closely related to them.
Cortinarius hemitrichus, also known as the frosty webcap, is a basidiomycete mushroom of the genus Cortinarius. Young mushrooms are characterized by their brown cone-shaped caps covered with dense white fibrils.
Austropaxillus is a genus of fungi in the family Serpulaceae, containing nine species found in Australia, New Zealand and South America.
Collybia tuberosa, commonly known as the lentil shanklet or the appleseed coincap, is an inedible species of fungus in the family Tricholomataceae, and the type species of the genus Collybia. Like the two other members of its genus, it lives on the decomposing remains of other fleshy mushrooms. The fungus produces small whitish fruit bodies with caps up to 1 cm (0.4 in) wide held by thin stems up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long. On the underside of the cap are closely spaced white gills that are broadly attached to the stem. At the base of the stem, embedded in the substrate is a small reddish-brown sclerotium that somewhat resembles an apple seed. The appearance of the sclerotium distinguishes it from the other two species of Collybia, which are otherwise very similar in overall appearance. C. tuberosa is found in Europe, North America, and Japan, growing in dense clusters on species of Lactarius and Russula, boletes, hydnums, and polypores.
Typhula quisquiliaris, commonly known as the bracken club, is a species of club fungus in the family Typhulaceae. It produces small, white fruit bodies up to 9 millimetres (0.4 in) in height, each with a single distinct "head" and "stem". The head is fertile, while the stem attaches to a sclerotium embedded in the substrate. The fruit bodies grow from dead wood, and strongly favours bracken, where the species feeds saprotrophically. Though T. quisquiliaris was described under a different name by James Sowerby in 1803, the specific name quisquiliaris was sanctioned in 1821 by Elias Magnus Fries, and the species was moved to the genus Typhula, which resulted in its currently accepted binomial name by Paul Christoph Hennings in 1896. The species has been recorded in Europe and north Africa.
Thelephora palmata is a species of clavarioid fungus in the family Thelephoraceae. The fruit bodies are leathery and coral-like, with branches that are narrow at the base before widening out like a fan and splitting into numerous flattened prongs. The wedge-like tips are whitish when young, but darken as the fungus matures. The common names of the fungus refers to its pungent odor, likened to fetid garlic. A widely distributed but uncommon species, it is found in Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America, where it fruits on the ground in both coniferous and mixed forest.
Xylobolus frustulatus, commonly known as the ceramic fungus or ceramic parchment, is an inedible species of crust fungus in the Stereaceae family. The fruit body forms small, hard, flat crust-like aggregations that resemble broken pieces of ceramic tile. These pieces are initially whitish before turning yellow-brown to gray-brown in age. The spore-bearing cells cover the upper surfaces of the fruit body. A saprobic species, it grows on well-decayed oak wood in Asia, northern Europe, and North America.
Royoporus badius or Picipes badius, commonly known as the black-footed polypore or black-leg, is a species of fungus in the family Polyporaceae. It causes a white rot of hardwoods and conifers. The species is found in temperate areas of Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. It has a dark brown or reddish-brown cap that reaches a diameter of 25 cm (9.8 in), and a stipe that is often completely black or brown at the top and black at the base.
Hapalopilus rutilans is a species of polypore fungus in the family Polyporaceae. Officially described in 1821, it was transferred to its current genus Hapalopilus six decades later. It is commonly known as the tender nesting polypore, purple dye polypore, or the cinnamon bracket. This widely distributed species is found on five continents. It grows on the fallen or standing dead wood of deciduous trees, in which it fruits singly, in groups, fused, or in overlapping clusters. Fruit bodies are in the form of kidney-shaped to semicircular, cinnamon-orange-brown brackets. The underside of the fruit body features a yellowish to brownish pore surface with tiny angular pores, from which spores are released.
Serpula himantioides is a species of fungus that causes damage to timber referred to as dry rot. It is a basidiomycete in the order Boletales. It has been found on all continents except for Antarctica. Recent molecular work demonstrates that S. himantioides is a species complex including multiple cryptic lineages.
Glutinoglossum glutinosum, commonly known as the viscid black earth tongue or the glutinous earthtongue, is a species of fungus in the family Geoglossaceae. Widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, it has been found in northern Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. Although previously thought to exist in Australasia, collections made from these locations have since been referred to new species. G. glutinosum is a saprophytic species that grows on soil in moss or in grassy areas. The smooth, nearly black, club-shaped fruitbodies grow to heights ranging from 1.5 to 5 cm. The head is up to 0.7 cm (0.3 in) long, and the stipes are sticky. Several other black earth tongue species are quite similar in external appearance, and many can be reliably distinguished only by examining differences in microscopic characteristics, such as spores, asci, and paraphyses. First described in 1796 as a species of Geoglossum, the fungus has gone through several changes of genera in its taxonomic history. It was placed in its current genus, Glutinoglossum, in 2013.
Leucocoprinus cretaceus is a species of mushroom producing fungus in the family Agaricaceae. It is likely tropical in origin although it was first documented in Europe where it was often found growing in greenhouses and bark beds. However many early observations conflate this species with Leucocoprinus birnbaumii or Leucocoprinus cepistipes despite sharing only some superficial similarities. This fungus is quite versatile even for a saprotroph and is often found growing in clusters on woodchips, sawdust and compost heaps as well as directly from the ground or on trees. It may also appear in plant pots and greenhouses in colder countries in which it is not well equipped to survive outside.
Phlebia radiata, commonly known as the wrinkled crust, is a common species of crust fungus in the family Meruliaceae. It is widespread in the Northern Hemisphere. It grows as a wrinkled, orange to pinkish waxy crust on the decaying wood of coniferous and deciduous trees, in which it causes a white rot. The fungus was first described scientifically in 1821 by Elias Magnus Fries.
Bjerkandera fumosa is a species of poroid fungus in the family Meruliaceae.
