Xylaria hypoxylon

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Xylaria hypoxylon
Geweihformige Holzkeule - Staghorn fungus - Xylaria hypoxylon - 01.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Sordariomycetes
Order: Xylariales
Family: Xylariaceae
Genus: Xylaria
Species:
X. hypoxylon
Binomial name
Xylaria hypoxylon
(L.) Grev.(1824)
Synonyms
  • Clavaria hypoxylonL.
  • Sphaeria hypoxylon(L.) Pers.
  • Xylosphaera hypoxylon(L.) Dumort.
Information icon.svg
No cap icon.svgNo distinct cap
NA cap icon.svg Hymenium attachment is not applicable
NA cap icon.svgLacks a stipe
Transparent spore print icon.svg
Transparent spore print icon.svg
 Spore print is black to white
Mycomorphbox Inedible.pngEdibility is inedible

Xylaria hypoxylon is a species of bioluminescent fungus in the family Xylariaceae. [NB 1] It is known by a variety of common names, such as the candlestick fungus, the candlesnuff fungus, carbon antlers, [2] or the stag's horn fungus. [3] The fruit bodies, characterized by erect, elongated black branches with whitened tips, typically grow in clusters on decaying hardwood. The fungus can cause a root rot in hawthorn and gooseberry plants. [4]

Contents

Taxonomy

Xylaria hypoxylon was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1745, [5] and then later mentioned by him in his Species Plantarum II. [6]

The specific epithet is derived from the Greek words hypo meaning "below", and xylon, meaning "wood".

Genetic evidence has created the Xylaria hypoxylon complex. The complex was created when taxonomists and amateurs noticed large variation in appearance and spore shape within the main species and decided that the differences were large enough to warrant a complex formation. This complex has been debated between different experts as valid and invalid for the past three years and has remained in tension. [7] [8] [9]

Though they are similar, the complex does not include Xylaria polymorpha and Xylaria longipes which look similar but are not closely enough related to Xylaria hypoxylon to apply. [7] [8] [9]

Description

Fruit bodies (ascocarps) are cylindrical or flattened with dimensions of 3–8 centimetres (1+1⁄8–3+1⁄8 in) tall × 2–8 mm thick. [2] The erect ascocarps are often twisted or bent, and typically sparsely branched, often in a shape resembling a stag's antlers. Specimens found earlier in the season, in spring, may be covered completely in asexual spores (conidia), which manifests itself as a white to grayish powdery deposit. Later in the season, mature ascocarps are charcoal-black, and have minute pimple-like bumps called perithecia on the surface. These are minute rounded spore bearing structures with tiny holes, or ostioles, for the release of sexual spores (ascospores). The perithecia are embedded in the flesh of the ascocarp, the stroma, which is tough, elastic, and white. Within the perithecia, the asci are 100 × 8  μm. [10]

Ascospores are kidney-shaped, black, and smooth, with dimensions of 10–14 × 4–6 μm. [11] The asexual spores (mitospores) are ellipsoid in shape, smooth, and hyaline. [12]

Edibility

Although not poisonous, the small size and tough texture of this fungus deter consumption. It is considered inedible by some guides. [13]

Similar species

Many species of the genus resemble X. hypoxylon, [14] including Xylaria polymorpha , which is thicker and not as branched.

Chemical compounds

A variety of chemical compounds with in vitro properties have been identified in this fungus. The compounds xylarial A and B both have moderate cytotoxic activity against the human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line Hep G2. [15] The pyrone derivative compounds named xylarone and 8,9-dehydroxylarone also have cytotoxic activity. [16] Several cytochalasins, compounds that bind to actin in muscle tissue, have been found in the fungus. [17] X. hypoxylon also contains a carbohydrate-binding protein, a lectin, with a unique sugar specificity, and which has potent anti-tumor effects in various tumor cell lines. [18]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ X. hypoxylon is the only known bioluminescent fungus outside of Ordo Agaricales; its light is said to be extremely faint, however. [1] [wb 1]

Subnotes

  1. ↑ See photos here: Cann, AJ (2017-12-19). "Candlesnuff Luminescence". NatureSpot. Archived from the original on 2023-06-20.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mycology</span> Branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi

Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and infection. Mycology branches into the field of phytopathology, the study of plant diseases. The two disciplines are closely related, because the vast majority of plant pathogens are fungi. A biologist specializing in mycology is called a mycologist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ascomycota</span> Division or phylum of fungi

Ascomycota is a phylum of the kingdom Fungi that, together with the Basidiomycota, forms the subkingdom Dikarya. Its members are commonly known as the sac fungi or ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species. The defining feature of this fungal group is the "ascus", a microscopic sexual structure in which nonmotile spores, called ascospores, are formed. However, some species of Ascomycota are asexual and thus do not form asci or ascospores. Familiar examples of sac fungi include morels, truffles, brewers' and bakers' yeast, dead man's fingers, and cup fungi. The fungal symbionts in the majority of lichens such as Cladonia belong to the Ascomycota.

An ascocarp, or ascoma, is the fruiting body (sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. Ascocarps are most commonly bowl-shaped (apothecia) but may take on a spherical or flask-like form that has a pore opening to release spores (perithecia) or no opening (cleistothecia).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ascus</span> Spore-bearing cell in ascomycete fungi

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<i>Xylaria</i> Genus of fungi

Xylaria is a genus of ascomycetous fungi commonly found growing on dead wood. The name comes from the Greek xýlon meaning wood.

<i>Xylaria polymorpha</i> Species of fungus

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<i>Urnula craterium</i> Species of fungus

Urnula craterium is a species of cup fungus in the family Sarcosomataceae. Appearing in early spring, its distinctive goblet-shaped and dark-colored fruit bodies have earned it the common names crater cup, devil's urn and the gray urn. The asexual (imperfect), or conidial stage of U. craterium is a plant pathogen known as Conoplea globosa, which causes a canker disease of oak and several other hardwood tree species.

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<i>Engleromyces sinensis</i> Species of fungus

Engleromyces sinensis is a species of fungus in the family Xylariaceae. It was described as new to science in 2010, based on specimens collected in 1958 and incorrectly identified as Engleromyces goetzii. The fungus is known only from China, where it grows on bamboo culms. It forms fruit bodies in the shape of two roughly circular buff-colored lobes measuring up to 50 cm (20 in) in diameter that envelop the bamboo. E. sinensis has been used as a folk remedy against cancer and infection in Tibet, Yunnan, and Sichuan Provinces. Several bioactive metabolites have been isolated and identified from the fungus.

<i>Trichoglossum hirsutum</i> Species of fungus

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References

  1. ↑ O'Reilly, Pat (2024-09-11). "Xylaria hypoxylon (L.) Grev. – Candlesnuff Fungus". First Nature (Fascinated by Fungi). Archived from the original on 2024-05-27.
  2. 1 2 Sundberg W, Bessette A (1987). Mushrooms: A Quick Reference Guide to Mushrooms of North America (Macmillan Field Guides). New York: Collier Books. p. 10. ISBN   0-02-063690-3.
  3. ↑ "Xylaria hypoxylon". Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
  4. ↑ Horst RK, Westcott C (2001). Westcott's plant disease handbook. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers. p. 533. ISBN   0-7923-8663-9.
  5. ↑ Linnaeus C. (1745). Flora svecica [suecica] exhibens plantas per regnum Sueciae crescentes. Vol. 2. Stockholm: Salvii.
  6. ↑ Linnaeus C. (1753). Species Plantarum, exhibentes plantas rites cognitus ad genera relatas cum differentiis specificis, nominibus trivialibus, synonymis selectis, locis natalibus, secundum systema sexuale digestas. Vol. II. Stockholm: Salvii.
  7. 1 2 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3852/08-108 – gives a more in depth description of the complex
  8. 1 2 "Xylaria hypoxylon (L.) Grev". www.gbif.org.
  9. 1 2 "Xylaria hypoxylon - Burke Herbarium Image Collection". burkeherbarium.org.
  10. ↑ "Rogers Mushrooms | Mushroom Pictures & Mushroom Reference" . Retrieved 2009-01-27.
  11. ↑ "Xylaria hypoxylon". California Fungi. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
  12. ↑ "Xylaria hypoxylon (próchnilec ga3êzisty) (Candlesnuff Fungus)" . Retrieved 2009-01-26.
  13. ↑ Davis, R. Michael; Sommer, Robert; Menge, John A. (2012). Field Guide to Mushrooms of Western North America. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 380–381. ISBN   978-0-520-95360-4. OCLC   797915861.
  14. ↑ Audubon (2023). Mushrooms of North America. Knopf. p. 80. ISBN   978-0-593-31998-7.
  15. ↑ Gu W, Ding H. (2008). "Two new tetralone derivatives from the culture of Xylaria hypoxylon AT-028." Chinese Chemical Letters19(11): 1323–26.
  16. ↑ Schüffler A, Sterner O, Anke H (2007). "Cytotoxic alpha-pyrones from Xylaria hypoxylon". Z. Naturforsch. C. 62 (3–4): 169–72. doi: 10.1515/znc-2007-3-403 . PMID   17542480. S2CID   34792432.
  17. ↑ Espada A, Rivera Sagredo A, de la Fuente JM, Hueso Rodriguez JA, Elson SW. (1997). "New cytochalasins from the fungus Xylaria hypoxylon." Tetrahedron53(18): 6485–92.
  18. ↑ Liu Q, Wang H, Ng TB (2006). "First report of a xylose-specific lectin with potent hemagglutinating, antiproliferative and anti-mitogenic activities from a wild ascomycete mushroom". Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 1760 (12): 1914–9. doi:10.1016/j.bbagen.2006.07.010. PMID   16952421.
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