''Astraeus sirindhorniae'' is a species of false earthstar in the family

Diplocystaceae Diplocystaceae (alternatively spelled Diplocystidaceae or Diplocystidiaceae) is a family of fungi in the Boletales order. The family was described by mycologist Hanns Kreisel Hanns Kreisel (16 July 1931 – 18 January 2017) was a German mycologi ...

. ''A. sirindhorniae'' can be distinguished from close relatives '' A. odoratus'', '' A. asiaticus'' and '' A. hygrometricus'' by differences in fruit body size, spore size, spore ornamentation, and peridium structure. The fungus was discovered in

Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary 250px, Mountain range at Phu Khiao. Phu Khiao Wildlife Sanctuary (or written as Phu Khieo; th, เขตรักษาพันธุ์สัตว์ป่าภูเขียว) is a wildlife sanctuary in Thailand. It overlaps with three d ...

in northeastern Thailand, as part of a project to document the biodiversity of

mycorrhiza A mycorrhiza (from Greek μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. mycorrhizae, mycorrhiza or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant ...

l fungi. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''sirindhorniae'' honors

Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, The Princess Royal and Princess Debaratana Rajasuda ( th, มหาจักรีสิรินธร, ; ; born April 2, 1955), formerly Princess Sirindhorn Debaratanasuda Kitivadhanadulsobhak ( th, สมเ ...

on the occasion the 84th birthday of her father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Known only from north and northeastern Thailand, ''A. sirindhorniae'' is suspected to be

ectomycorrhiza 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 ...

l with members of the

Dipterocarpaceae Dipterocarpaceae is a family of 16 genera and about 695 known species of mainly tropical lowland rainforest trees. The family name, from the type genus ''Dipterocarpus'', is derived from Greek (''di'' = two, ''pteron'' = wing and ''karpos'' = fru ...

, although this has not yet been proven.

References

External links

* Boletales Fungi described in 2014 Fungi of Asia Fungus species {{Boletales-stub