The Aphelariaceae are a
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
of
fungi
A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...
in the
order Cantharellales
The Cantharellales are an order of fungi in the class Agaricomycetes. The order includes not only the chanterelles (Cantharellaceae), but also some of the tooth fungi (Hydnaceae), clavarioid fungi ( Aphelariaceae and Clavulinaceae), and cortici ...
. The family contains a small group of
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
and
subtropical
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...
clavarioid fungi
The clavarioid fungi are a group of fungi in the ''Basidiomycota'' typically having erect, simple or branched basidiocarps (fruit bodies) that are formed on the ground, on decaying vegetation, or on dead wood. They are colloquially called club fun ...
, but is not well characterized and has not been the subject of published research.
Taxonomy
The family was described in 1970 by British
mycologist
Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their genetics, genetic and biochemistry, biochemical properties, their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and ethnomycology, their use to humans, including as a so ...
E.J.H. Corner to accommodate
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
club and coral fungi that were similar to species in the
Clavariaceae
The Clavariaceae are a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. Originally the family contained most of the clavarioid fungi (club and coral fungi), but in its current sense is more restricted, albeit with a greater diversity of basidiocarp (fru ...
, but whose context
hyphae
A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium.
Structure
A hypha consists of one or ...
were uninflated. As well as the genus ''
Aphelaria'', Corner included the small genera ''
Corticirama'', ''
Phaeoaphelaria'', and ''
Tumidapexus'' within the Aphelariaceae.
[ No research has been published on the family, though several standard reference works have recognized the Aphelariaceae, placed it within the order Cantharellales, and moved the genus ''Corticirama'' elsewhere, though the basis for these dispositions is unclear.][
]
Habitat and distribution
Members of the Aphelariaceae (excluding ''Corticirama'') are terrestrial and typically found in woodland, but it is not known whether they are saprotrophic
Saprotrophic nutrition or lysotrophic nutrition is a process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion involved in the processing of decayed (dead or waste) organic matter. It occurs in saprotrophs, and is most often associated with fungi (f ...
(litter-rotting) or ectomycorrhizal
An ectomycorrhiza (from Greek ἐκτός ', "outside", μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. ectomycorrhizas or ectomycorrhizae, abbreviated EcM) is a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbiont, or mycobi ...
. Just over 20 species are currently placed within the family, most of them from the tropics and subtropics, extending southwards into temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
regions (New Zealand).[
]
See also
*List of Basidiomycota families This is a list of families in the phylum Basidiomycota of kingdom Fungi. The Basidiomycota are the second largest phyla of the fungi, containing 31515 species. The phylum is divided into three subphyla, the Pucciniomycotina (rust fungi), the Ustilag ...
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1935445
Cantharellales
Basidiomycota families