Contributions Towards a Rational Arrangement of the Clathraceae Kew Bulletin, Vol
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Anthurus brownii J. M. Mend., 1934 Is this in Queensland? Description: Fruiting body consists of a stipe topped by long, vertical arms that may or may not be fused together at the tips. White in colour. Egg: White, rough skinned, to 50 mm diameter. Stipe: Cylindrical but tapering towards the base, up to 50 mm high and 40 mm diameter, white in colour, hollow with thin walls. Arms: 6, white, tapering towards the tips, to 60 mm long, finely wrinkled on the interior surface with a “suture” running down the length of the outer surface. At first the arms are joined at the tips, but they soon break apart – standing free but not curving outwards. Some of the tips of the arms may be forked. Texture may be spongy. Gleba: Thick, slimy, carried on the inner surface of the arms. Extremely foetid. Spores: 3.2-4.5 x 2.8-3.8 μm, broadly ellipsoid. Habitat: Sandy soil, mixed with decayed organic matter. Drawing based on descriptions by Dring and Mendoza. Notes: Dring believed that this is not a Pseudocolus species, though it was difficult for him to confirm because he only saw it in photographs. Despite the similarity in appearance to P. garciae, the number of its arms, the apparent structure of the arms and the shape of its spores make it quite different. To clarify, he would have needed a description of the interior of the arms – are they chambered as the spongy texture in the photos he saw seems to imply, or are they tubular? So far, this species has only been found in the Philippines. Joan Cribb has described and photographed a similar-looking fungus in Queensland. The 130 mm tall, white, 5-6 armed fungi were growing with some much smaller (60 mm), similar- looking but 3-armed fungi. Compiled by V Ryan for QMS Gasteromycetes Workshop, August 2013. Aseroë arachnoidea E. Fisch., 1890 Description: A white, tapering stipe topped by a radiating ring of white, tentacle- like arms. Egg: White to grey, smooth-skinned, to 30 mm diameter, with white rhizomorphs at the base. The egg remnants are seen as a gelatinous, white volva at the base of the mature fruiting body's stem. Stipe: White, to 100 mm high and to 25 mm diameter, cylindrical but tapering a little towards the base. Hollow, sometimes with a round opening at the top. Surface may be slightly wrinkled. Wall is composed of a cellular structure. Disc: A flattened plate of tissue that, on maturity might be a complete diaphragm or be perforated. Arms: 8-12, white, brittle, radiating from the top of the stipe like the rays of a star, to 40 mm long and 6 mm wide at the base, tapering towards the tip. The arms consist of a single, hollow tube. The tips of some of the arms may be joined together. Gleba: Carried on the disc or the base of the arms. Black, with a thick, slimy texture. Strongly foetid odour. Spores: 2.5-3.5 x 1.5-2 μm, elongate, smooth, hyaline. Habitat: Coarse compost (Australia), dung heap (China), as fairy rings in lawns (Hawai'i). Notes: Description from the University of Hawai'i's website: “It will actually look like there are black lumps on the lawns when this fungus reproduces, but they are actually piles of flies feeding on the gleba of individual fruiting bodies.” http://www2.hawaii.edu/~baperry/Species_Descriptions/A_arachnoidea.html Compiled by V Ryan for QMS Gasteromycetes Workshop, August 2013. Aseroë rubra Labill., 1806 Description: A stipe topped by a radiating ring of tentacle-like, forked arms. Colour may range from the typical bright red to pink, reddish-orange, orange, to lemon yellow. White forms have also been found. The number of arms also varies greatly. Egg: Typically dingy white to grey in colour, but may be dark grey, pinkish, purplish or even brownish. To 30 mm in diameter with white rhizomorphs at the base. Gelatinous texture. The egg remnants are seen as a volva at the base of the mature fruiting body's stem, often semi-buried in the substrate. Stipe: May be barely emerged from the egg or up to 80 mm long – usually to 60 mm, up to 30 mm in diameter, cylindrical or flaring towards the top. Hollow, smooth, but with a spongy surface and texture, dry. Usually the base of the stem is white, or with pinkish tints, and the colour deepens progressively upwards until the arms are reached. Wall is cellular in structure. Disc: This is a flat diaphragm, up to 35 mm in diameter, which covers the top of the hollow stipe. It may be smooth or finely wrinkled, it also might be a complete disc or have a hole in its centre. Its colour is variable, though it is usually red or pink. Sometimes it is covered by the gleba. The outer edge of the disc forms a rounded rim to the stipe from which the arms are attached. Arms: 5-9, typically bright red, forked, radiating from the top of the stipe like the rays of a star, up to 40 mm long and 6 mm wide at the base, tapering towards the tips. Both upper and lower surfaces may be smooth or wrinkled. The arms are often twisted or curled and consist of a number of hollow chambers. Variation occurs in the colour, the number and breadth of the arms (some overseas A. rubra have up to 22 arms); the forks may taper to differing degrees, and the point of forking may be nearer to the stipe or to the tips. Some of the arms may remain fused together at their tips. Gleba: Brown to olive-brown to black. Slimy texture, sometimes covering the disk or in blobs at the bases of the arms. Smell intensely foetid, of rotting meat or sewerage. If you touch this spore mass, the smell can linger on your hands for hours. Spores: Rather variable in size: 3-7 x 1.5-3 μm, cylindric, smooth, hyaline or tinted. Habitat: This species is common in the eastern half of Australia, growing in organically rich soils in rainforests and woody debris (rotting logs on forest floors) and often in well-mulched or wood-chipped garden beds, sometimes in large troops. Notes: Aseroë rubra has the honour of being the first fungal record for Australia. It was collected on 1st May, 1792 on the shores of Recherche Bay, just south of Hobart, by the French naturalist Labillardière who was part of an expedition that was looking for the lost explorer, La Pèrouse. Compiled by V Ryan for QMS Gasteromycetes Workshop, August 2013. Colus hirudinosus Cavalier & Séchier, 1835 Description: A short stem that flares out into an open network of joined arms to make a cage- like structure. This net suddenly changes to a much tighter mesh at the top of the cage. To 70 mm high and 20 mm wide. Egg: White or grey, may be mottled grey or brown on top. Diameter to 25 mm, smooth skinned, white rhizomorphs at the base. Upon maturity, it splits into several short, irregular lobes. The egg remnants are seen as a volva at the base of the mature fruiting body's stem. Stipe: Very short, broad, up to 15 mm long and 12 mm diameter, slightly wrinkled surface and pale orange to red in colour. Hollow, made up of joined arms which become free to form the net above. Interior consists of a single layer of vertical tubes, sometimes with the hint of a second layer. Arms: 3-7, united at the base to form the stipe, vertical, joining to become a very open net. This net arches over and abruptly changes at the top to become an evenly spaced and much tighter mesh, which is the fertile part of the receptacle. Surface wrinkled across the width of the arm, colour pale pink, orange or bright red. The arms are made up of a double layer of tubes – a large inner one and two or three small outer ones. Gleba: Dark toned, purplish or olive-brown, thick and slimy. Carried on the underside of the upper mesh and on the inner side of the arms below. Smell foetid, fishy. Spores: 3.5-6.5 x 1-2.4 μm, cylindric - almost bacciliform, smooth, hyaline. Habitat: Grows singly or in groups on the ground. Prefers moist or winter-wet depressions in open forest and woodland, swampy forest areas. Notes: There may be confusion between Colus hirudinosus and Colus pusillus as both species are of a similar size, structure and colouration and both are highly variable in appearance. The main distinction between the two is the tight mesh-like structure at the top of C. hirudinosus; C. pusillus's net at the top is much larger and more open. Compiled by V Ryan for QMS Gasteromycetes Workshop, August 2013. Colus pusillus (Berk.) Reichert, 1940 Description: A short stem that flares out into an open network of joined arms which make a cage- like structure. To 100 mm high and 60 mm wide. Egg: White to dingy-white, gelatinous, smooth surface with dimples reflecting the net-like structure of the not-yet expanded arms within, diameter to 25 mm, white rhizomorphs at the base. Upon maturity, it splits into several short, irregular lobes. The egg remnants are seen as a whitish volva at the base of the mature fruiting body's stem. Stipe: Very short – sometimes rudimentary and still enclosed within the volva, made up of joined arms which become free to form the lattice above. Almost white turning to pale fleshy-pink or pale yellow – the colour is a lighter shade of the arms.