''Bankera'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of four species of tooth fungi in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Bankeraceae. The genus was first circumscribed in 1951 by

William Chambers Coker William Chambers Coker (October 24, 1872 – June 26, 1953) was an American botany, botanist and mycology, mycologist. Biography He was born at Hartsville, South Carolina on October 24, 1872. He graduated from University of South Carolina, Sou ...

and Alma Holland Beers, but this publication was

invalid Invalid may refer to: * Patient, a sick person * one who is confined to home or bed because of illness, disability or injury (sometimes considered a politically incorrect term) * .invalid, a top-level Internet domain not intended for real use As t ...

according to the rules of botanical nomenclature. It was later published validly by

Zdeněk Pouzar Zdeněk Pouzar (born 13 April 1932) is a Czech mycologist. Along with František Kotlaba, he published several works about the taxonomy of polypore, corticioid, and gilled fungi. Pouzar is a noted expert on stromatic pyrenomycetes. Until 2012, h ...

in 1955. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

is '' B. fuligineoalba''. The genus is ectomycorrhizal with

gymnosperm The gymnosperms ( lit. revealed seeds) are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, '' Ginkgo'', and gnetophytes, forming the clade Gymnospermae. The term ''gymnosperm'' comes from the composite word in el, γυμν ...

s, usually with trees from the

pine family The Pinaceae, or pine family, are conifer trees or shrubs, including many of the well-known conifers of commercial importance such as Cedrus, cedars, firs, Tsuga, hemlocks, larches, pines and spruces. The family is included in the order Pinales, ...

. Fruitbodies of ''Bankera'' species are fleshy, usually with a centrally-placed stipe, and greyish-brown spines on the hymenial undersurface. The texture of the

flesh Flesh is any aggregation of soft tissues of an organism. Various multicellular organisms have soft tissues that may be called "flesh". In mammals, including humans, ''flesh'' encompasses muscles, fats and other loose connective tissues, but ...

ranges from soft to tough, but it lacks the zones associated with some other Bankeraceae genera. Dried flesh often has a fenugreek odor.

Spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, ...

range in shape from more or less spherical to ellipsoid, and are hyaline (translucent), with thin walls. In deposit, they are white. ''Bankera'' has a monomitic hyphal system with brownish to hyaline, inflated generative hyphae. In 2013, based on molecular and morphological evidence, Richard Baird proposed that the type species ''Bankera fuligineoalba'' be transferred into the genus '' Phellodon'', as ''Phellodon fuligineoalbus''.

Species

*''

Bankera cinerea ''Bankera'' is a genus of four species of tooth fungi in the family Bankeraceae. The genus was first circumscribed in 1951 by William Chambers Coker and Alma Holland Beers, but this publication was invalid according to the rules of botanical ...

'' *'' Bankera fuligineoalba'' *'' Bankera mollis'' *''

Bankera violascens ''Bankera'' is a genus of four species of tooth fungi in the family Bankeraceae. The genus was first circumscribed in 1951 by William Chambers Coker and Alma Holland Beers, but this publication was invalid according to the rules of botanical ...

References

Agaricomycetes genera Thelephorales Thelephorales genera {{Agaricomycetes-stub