''Auriscalpium'' is a
genus of
mushrooms
typifying the
family Auriscalpiaceae
The Auriscalpiaceae are a family of fungi in the order Russulales. Like much of the Russulales, it has been defined through molecular phylogeny
Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular di ...
.
Etymology
''Auriscalpium'' is a compound of the
Latin, ''auris'', "ear"; and ''scalpo'', "I scratch", generally meaning
ear pick
Ear picks, also called ear scoops, or ear spoons, or earpicks, are a type of curette used to clean the ear canal of earwax (cerumen). They are preferred and are commonly used in East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia because Asians tend to d ...
. The term was originally applied as a
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 ...
by
Linnaeus in 1753, viz. ''Hydnum auriscalpium'' and changed in 1821 to ''vulgare'' when
S.F. Gray recognized the cone-inhabiting fungus as a new genus, named after its type species, ''Auriscalpium vulgare''.
Tautonyms, such as ''"Auriscalpium auriscalpium"'' are illegitimate under the
International Code of Botanical Nomenclature.
Taxonomy
The genus includes the following species:
* ''
A. andinum''
* ''
A. barbatum''
* ''
A. dissectum''
* ''
A. gilbertsonii''
* ''
A. luteolum''
* ''
A. umbella''
* ''
A. villipes''
* ''
A. vulgare''
Description
Members of this genus are characterized by in part by rough-walled,
amyloid spores that are produced on pendant spines, hence it is considered to be a
tooth fungus
The hydnoid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota with basidiocarps (fruit bodies) producing spores on pendant, tooth-like or spine-like projections. They are colloquially called tooth fungi. Originally such fungi were referred to the g ...
. The
type
Type may refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc.
* Data type, collection of values used for computations.
* File type
* TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file.
* Ty ...
species, ''A. vulgare'', is a common, easily identified fungus in the
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...
found fruiting exclusively on mature, fallen, often buried
conifer cones. Its wiry, long hairy
stipe is topped by an eccentrically placed, shaggy
pileus bearing the pendant, flexible, spore-bearing spines. The entire fructification resembles and perhaps could be used as an
ear pick
Ear picks, also called ear scoops, or ear spoons, or earpicks, are a type of curette used to clean the ear canal of earwax (cerumen). They are preferred and are commonly used in East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia because Asians tend to d ...
(see
etymology above). Other species in the genus do not occur on cones or lack the eccentric pileus on a long stalk. According to the ''Dictionary of the Fungi'' (10th edition, 2008), the genus contains eight widely distributed species.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2521174
Russulales
Russulales genera