| Willkommlangea | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Phylum: | Amoebozoa |
| Class: | Myxogastria |
| Order: | Physarales |
| Family: | Physaraceae |
| Genus: | Willkommlangea Kuntze |
| Species: | W. reticulata |
| Binomial name | |
| Willkommlangea reticulata | |
Willkommlangea reticulata is a slime mold species from the order Physarales and the only species of the genus Willkommlangea. It is common worldwide, but rare in Europe. The tropics are possibly the main area of habitat.
The plasmodium is orange to scarlet. The fruit bodies are mainly plasmodiocarps, which are worm to net-shaped, beige, ochre or yellow to red-brown coloured and red spotted. The strands are occasionally so closely bound together that they produce pseudo-aethaliae, rarely cushion-form fruit bodies, which have a diameter from 0.3 to 0.5 mm (0.012 to 0.020 in) and expand over several centimetres wide. The hypothallus is inconspicuous or is missing. [1]
The sturdy, crossways puckered peridium is macroscopic light ochre to dark red-brown, in transmitted light yellowish to red-brown and covered with whitish or yellow to red-brown chalk, which occasionally produce a consistent crust. It opens irregularly lengthways, the edge, however, continues to permanently stick with the substrate. [1]
The capillitium comprises a few rotund chalk knots, which are linked through transparent to yellowish strings with acanthoid, non-overgrown humps. The capillitium becomes segmented through white to yellowish, partly perforated limestone plates, which are overgrown on the edge of the peridium. The spores are 8 to 10, rarely 7 to 11 μm and their body is black-brown, in transmitted light purple-brown, on the surface dense and fine-warty. [1]
Willkommlangea reticulata are distributed worldwide. It was only occasionally found in Europe. It is believed that the species focuses in the tropics. [1]
The species was initially known in 1805 as Physarum reticulatum and first named by Johannes Baptista von Albertini and Lewis David von Schweinitz. In 1891 Carl Ernst Otto Kuntze created for it a separate genus, Willkommlangea. [1]
The genus name of Willkommlangea is in honour of both; Heinrich Moritz Willkomm (1821-1895), who was a German academic and botanist and also Johan Martin Christian Lange (1818-1898), who was a prominent Danish born botanist. [2]
Bovista is a genus of fungi commonly known as the true puffballs. It was formerly classified within the now-obsolete order Lycoperdales, which, following a restructuring of fungal taxonomy brought about by molecular phylogeny, has been split; the species of Bovista are now placed in the family Agaricaceae of the order Agaricales. Bovista species have a collectively widespread distribution, and are found largely in temperate regions of the world. Various species have historically been used in homeopathic preparations.
Crucibulum is a genus in the Nidulariaceae, a family of fungi whose fruiting bodies resemble tiny egg-filled bird's nests. Often called "splash cups", the fruiting bodies are adapted for spore dispersal by using the kinetic energy of falling drops of rain. The "eggs" inside the bird's nests are hard waxy shells containing spores, and tend to stick to whatever nearby herbage they land on, thus increasing the odds of being consumed and dispersed by herbivorous animals. Members of this genus are saprobic, obtaining nutrients from dead organic matter, and are typically found growing on decayed wood and wood debris. The three known Crucibulum species are distinguished from other genera of the Nidulariaceae by their relatively simple funiculus – a cord of hyphae that connects the peridiole to the exterior of the bird's nest.
Cyathus is a genus of fungi in the Nidulariaceae, which is a family collectively known as the bird's nest fungi. They are given this name as they resemble tiny bird's nests filled with "eggs" – structures large enough to have been mistaken in the past for seeds. However, these are now known to be reproductive structures containing spores. The "eggs", or peridioles, are firmly attached to the inner surface of this fruit body by an elastic cord of mycelia known as a funiculus. The 45 species are widely distributed throughout the world and some are found in most countries, although a few exist in only one or two locales. Cyathus stercoreus is considered endangered in a number of European countries. Some species of Cyathus are also known as splash cups, which refers to the fact that falling raindrops can knock the peridioles out of the open-cup fruit body. The internal and external surfaces of this cup may be ridged longitudinally ; this is one example of a taxonomic characteristic that has traditionally served to distinguish between species.
Tubifera is a genus of slime moulds from the subclass Myxogastria. The genus comprises 12 species.
Geastrum triplex is a fungus found in the detritus and leaf litter of hardwood forests around the world. It is commonly known as the collared earthstar, the saucered earthstar, or the triple earthstar—and less commonly by the alternative species name Geastrum indicum. It is the largest member of the genus Geastrum and expanded mature specimens can reach a tip-to-tip length of up to 12 centimeters.
Calbovista is a fungal genus containing the single species Calbovista subsculpta, commonly known as the sculptured puffball, sculptured giant puffball, and warted giant puffball. It is a common puffball of the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Coast ranges of western North America. The puffball is more or less round with a diameter of up to 15 cm (6 in), white becoming brownish in age, and covered with shallow pyramid-shaped plates or scales. It fruits singly or in groups along roads and in open woods at high elevations, from summer to autumn.
Mycenastrum is a fungal genus in the family Agaricaceae. The genus is monotypic, containing one widely distributed species, Mycenastrum corium, known by various common names: the giant pasture puffball, leathery puffball, or tough puffball. The roughly spherical to turnip-shaped puffball-like fruit bodies grow to a diameter of 6–24 cm (2–9 in). Initially covered by a thick, felted, whitish layer, the puffballs develop a characteristic checkered skin (peridium) in age. When the internal spore mass, the gleba, is firm and white, the puffball is edible, although some individuals may suffer mild gastrointestinal symptoms after eating it. As the spores mature, the gleba turns first yellowish then purplish brown. Spores are released when the peridium eventually splits open into irregularly shaped sections. Microscopically, the gleba consists of spherical, dark brown spores with rounded bumps on their surfaces, and a capillitium—intricately branched fibers that form long thorn-like spines. The puffball grows on or in the ground in prairie or desert habitats. Although widely distributed, it is not commonly encountered. Mycenastrum corium is a threatened species in Europe.
Agaricus deserticola, commonly known as the gasteroid agaricus, is a species of fungus in the family Agaricaceae. Found only in southwestern and western North America, A. deserticola is adapted for growth in dry or semi-arid habitats. The fruit bodies are secotioid, meaning the spores are not forcibly discharged, and the cap does not fully expand. Unlike other Agaricus species, A. deserticola does not develop true gills, but rather a convoluted and networked system of spore-producing tissue called a gleba. When the partial veil breaks or pulls away from the stem or the cap splits radially, the blackish-brown gleba is exposed, which allows the spores to be dispersed.
Geastrum leptospermum is a species of fungus in the family Geastraceae. It was first described scientifically by American mycologist George F. Atkinson in 1903. The fungus produces small fruit bodies and grows in mosses on tree trunks.
Trichia decipiens is a worldwide widespread slime mould species from the order Trichiida.
Prototrichia metallica is a slime mould species from the order Trichiida and the only species from the genus Prototrichia. It is mainly distributed on mountains.
Physarum aeneum is a slime mould species from the order Physarida. It is one of a few slime moulds mainly common in the tropics and subtropics.
Listerella paradoxa is a slime mould species from the class Myxogastria and the only member of its genus as well as the family Listerelliidae. The species is so far only found on the wattle genus Cladonia, mostly in European temperate zones.
Lindbladia tubulina is a slime mould species from the order Liceida and the only member of its genus.
Barbeyella minutissima is a slime mould species of the order Echinosteliales, and the only species of the genus Barbeyella. First described in 1914 from the Jura mountains, its habitat is restricted to montane spruce and spruce-fir forests of the Northern Hemisphere, where it has been recorded from Asia, Europe, and North America. It typically colonises slimy, algae-covered logs that have lost their bark and have been partially to completely covered by liverworts. The sporangia are roughly spherical, up to 0.2 mm in diameter, and supported by a thin stalk up to 0.7 mm tall. After the spores have developed, the walls of the sporangia split open into lobes. The species is one of the smallest members of the Myxogastria and is considered rare.
Tuber microspiculatum is a species of truffle in the family Tuberaceae. Found in China, it was described as new to science in 2012. The edible species has fruit bodies up to 2.5 cm (1.0 in) wide that range in color from light yellow to reddish brown depending on their age. It is distinguished microscopically from other similar truffles by the honeycomb-like ornamentation on the surface of its spores.
Tuber polyspermum is a species of truffle in the family Tuberaceae. Found in China, it was described as new to science in 2011. Fruit bodies of the truffle are small and brown, measuring up to 1.5 cm (0.6 in) in diameter.
Lycoperdon marginatum, commonly known as the peeling puffball, is a type of puffball mushroom in the genus Lycoperdon. A common species, it is found in Europe and North America, where it grows on the ground. It is characterized by the way that the spiny outer layer peels off in sheets.
Scleroderma polyrhizum, commonly known as the star earthball or dead man's hand, is a basidiomycete fungus and a member of the genus Scleroderma, or "earthballs". Found in dry, sandy soils, this species begins completely buried before slowly forcing the soil aside as it cracks apart to form a rough, star-shaped body with a diameter of 12–15 cm (4.7–5.9 in). At the center is the dark, brownish spore mass. Widely distributed wherever the soil and climate are favorable, it is known from Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
Calvatia pachyderma, also known as the elephant-skin puffball or thick-skinned puffball, is a species of edible fungus. This mid-sized, spring-fruiting puffball is known from relatively dry, open places near human settlements. The appropriate binomial name, taxonomic placement, and geographic distribution "have been much debated and are the subject of controversy".