| Sulzbacheromyces sinensis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Lepidostromatales |
| Family: | Lepidostromataceae |
| Genus: | Sulzbacheromyces |
| Species: | S. sinensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Sulzbacheromyces sinensis (R.H.Petersen & M.Zang) D.Liu & Li S.Wang (2017) | |
| Synonyms [1] [2] | |
| |
Sulzbacheromyces sinensis is a species of basidiolichen in the family Lepidostromataceae. [4] It is found in Asia.
The species was first scientifically described in 1986 by the mycologists Ron Petersen and Mu Zang, who initially classified it in the genus Multiclavula . [5] Dong Liu and Lisong Wang transferred it to genus Sulzbacheromyces in 2017. The species shows considerable variation in its appearance depending on environmental conditions, and was also independently described from Japan as Lepidostroma asianum, which is now considered a synonym. [2]
The organism forms a distinctive crusty layer on its substrate , covering areas of 5–70 cm in diameter. This crust appears green to dark green when fresh but becomes silvery and shiny when dried, with a distinctive white to grey coating. The most conspicuous features are its upright fruiting bodies, which reach up to 5.5 cm in height. These structures are yellow to reddish-orange when fresh, turning ochre when dried, and occasionally branch at the tip. They emerge from a pale grey to pink patch and always have a white woolly coating at their base. Each fruiting body develops cracks around its circumference when mature and has a blunt tip that becomes pointed when young or exposed to direct sunlight. The fungus has no distinct taste but produces a mushroom-like odour. [2]
Sulzbacheromyces sinensis is found across tropical and subtropical regions of East Asia, including various provinces of China (Yunnan, Hainan, Fujian) as well as Taiwan and Japan. It grows specifically on red sandy soil and around the base of rocks, particularly in areas that have been exposed for two to three years in newly cultivated areas. The species shows considerable adaptability to different environmental conditions, with its appearance varying notably depending on whether it grows on soil or rock, in direct or indirect light, and in high or low humidity environments. [2]
Ophiocordyceps sinensis, known colloquially as caterpillar fungus, is an entomopathogenic fungus in the family Ophiocordycipitaceae. It is mainly found in the meadows above 3,500 metres (11,500 ft) on the Tibetan Plateau in Tibet and the Himalayan regions of Bhutan, India, and Nepal. It parasitizes larvae of ghost moths and produces a fruiting body which is valued in traditional Chinese medicine as an aphrodisiac. Caterpillar fungus contains the compound cordycepin, an adenosine derivative. However, the fruiting bodies harvested in nature usually contain high amounts of arsenic and other heavy metals, so they are potentially toxic and sales have been strictly regulated by China's State Administration for Market Regulation since 2016.
Basidiolichens are lichenized members of the division Basidiomycota within the subkingdom Dikarya of the kingdom Fungi. They form a diverse yet much smaller group of lichens than the far more common ascolichens of the division Ascomycota. Owing to how few described species there are, basidiolichens are generally considered to be poorly researched, and few studies that characterize their natural products exist. Biogeographically, basidiolichen species may be distributed in a cosmopolitan manner or more regionally, ranging from arctic and montane habitats to more temperate and tropical environments. Morphologically, basidiocarp and thallus structures may vary widely within and between basidiolichen genera.
Aquilaria sinensis, known as incense tree, is a species of plant in the family Thymelaeaceae. It is endemic to China. It is threatened by habitat loss. This medicinal plant is a source of fragrant wood, formed under a pathological condition, called agarwood.
Boletellus obscurecoccineus, known as the rhubarb bolete, is a species of fungus in the family Boletaceae, found in Australia, New Guinea, Java, Borneo, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. It is a distinctive and colourful bolete of the forest floor.
Sinoboletus is a genus of fungi in the family Boletaceae.
The clavarioid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota typically having erect, simple or branched basidiocarps that are formed on the ground, on decaying vegetation, or on dead wood. They are colloquially called club fungi and coral fungi.
Multiclavula is a genus of basidiolichens in the family Hydnaceae. The widespread genus contains 14 species. The genus was circumscribed by the American mycologist Ron Petersen in 1967, with Multiclavula corynoides assigned as the type species.
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, a basidiolichen. 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.
Lepidostroma is a genus in the family Lepidostromataceae. The genus is distinguished from all other lichenized clavarioid fungi by having a distinctly squamulose thallus with scattered to dense rounded to reniform squamules. Four species are known from the tropics of Africa and the Americas.
Candelariella rubrisoli is a species of crustose lichen in the family Candelariaceae. It was described as new to science in 2019 by Dong Liu and Jae-Seoun Hur. The type was collected near Huagou Village, in Dongchuan District. Here it was found growing on Chinese white pine at an elevation of about 2,400 m (7,900 ft). The specific epithet rubrisoli refers to the red soil of the type locality. The lichen is characterized by the areolate to somewhat squamulose (scale-like) thallus. The thallus typically breaks and eventually dissolves into soredia. Calycin and pulvinic acid are the major secondary metabolites present in the lichen.
Sulzbacheromyces leucodontius is a species of basidiolichen in the family Lepidostromataceae. First described in 2023, it is characterised by its distinctive white, unbranched fruiting bodies that resemble elephant tusks, growing 6–25 millimetres tall. The species forms a thin, crusty growth on clay soils in tropical rainforests, where it lives in symbiosis with microscopic green algae. It has the broadest geographical distribution of any American Sulzbacheromyces species, occurring across the Neotropics from Mexico to western Brazil, particularly in lowland areas. Although initially published as S. leucodontium, the species name was later corrected to S. leucodontius.
Sulzbacheromyces bicolor is a species of basidiolichen in the family Lepidostromataceae. It occurs in Yunnan, China.
Sulzbacheromyces fossicola is a species of basidiolichen in the family Lepidostromataceae. First described in 1950 by E. J. H. Corner as Clavaria fossicola, it is characterised by its dark green to indigo blue crusty growth form and distinctive white, club-shaped fruiting bodies that turn beige when dried. The species forms a thin layer on soil or rocks, where it lives in symbiosis with microscopic green algae. It is distributed across tropical and subtropical Asia, from India to Singapore, where it specifically grows on exposed yellow and red clay soils in shaded locations. The species was transferred to Sulzbacheromyces in 2017 based on molecular and morphological evidence.
Sulzbacheromyces miomboensis is a species of basidiolichen in the family Lepidostromataceae. Found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as was described as new to science in 2017.
Sulzbacheromyces yunnanensis is a species of basidiolichen in the family Lepidostromataceae. It is found in Yunnan, China.
Sulzbacheromyces chocoensis is a species of soil-dwelling basidiolichen in the family Lepidostromataceae. It forms a thin, olive-green crust on clay soil and produces distinctive unbranched, reddish-orange to yellowish reproductive structures. The species was described in 2018 from specimens collected in Colombia's Chocó Biogeographic Region, where it grows in tropical rainforest environments.
Sulzbacheromyces caatingae is a species of basidiolichen in the family Lepidostromataceae. Discovered in 2012 in northeastern Brazil, it is characterised by its thin green crustose thallus and distinctive orange-pink, club-shaped reproductive structures. The species has a broad ecological amplitude, occurring across different vegetation types from the semi-arid Caatinga to humid Atlantic Forest fragments, where it grows on soil banks and termite nests near forest edges. As the type species of the genus Sulzbacheromyces, it represents a unique evolutionary lineage within the order Lepidostromatales and can be distinguished from similar-looking species by its undifferentiated thallus structure and association with green algae.
Lepidostroma vilgalysii is a species of basidiolichen in the family Lepidostromataceae. Discovered in 2012 in Mexico's Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, it grows in small green patches on clay banks in high-altitude pine forests. The species is distinctive because of its unusual "window lichen" structure, where its algal partner is concentrated in a layer at the base rather than near the surface as in most lichens. Its most distinctive features are its club-shaped reproductive structures, which are pale yellow to orange-brown with cream-colored tips, and its scale-like body parts that have white, raised edges. It is known only from a single location near San José Teacalco, Tlaxcala, at an elevation of about 3,000 m (9,800 ft) above sea level.