''Botryobasidium'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

corticioid fungi The corticioid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota typically having effused, smooth basidiocarps (fruit bodies) that are formed on the undersides of dead tree trunks or branches. They are sometimes colloquially called crust fungi or pa ...

belonging to 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 ...

Basidiocarps In fungi, a basidiocarp, basidiome, or basidioma () is the sporocarp (fungi), sporocarp of a basidiomycota, basidiomycete, the Multicellular organism, multicellular structure on which the spore-producing hymenium is borne. Basidiocarps are chara ...

(fruit bodies) are ephemeral and typically form thin, web-like, white to cream, effused patches on the underside of fallen branches, logs, and leaf litter. Several species form

anamorph In mycology, the terms teleomorph, anamorph, and holomorph apply to portions of the life cycles of fungi in the phyla Ascomycota and Basidiomycota: *Teleomorph: the sexual reproductive stage (morph), typically a fruiting body. *Anamorph: an ase ...

s producing chlamydospores. All species are wood- or litter-rotting saprotrophs and the genus has a worldwide distribution.

Taxonomy

The genus was first described by Dutch

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 ...

M.A. Donk in 1931. Species had previously been referred to the genus '' Corticium'', formerly used for most

with effused fruit bodies. Donk recognized a group of species within ''Corticium'' that (microscopically) produced

basidia A basidium () is a microscopic sporangium (a spore-producing structure) found on the hymenophore of fruiting bodies of basidiomycete fungi which are also called tertiary mycelium, developed from secondary mycelium. Tertiary mycelium is highly-c ...

in " botryose" clusters (hence ''Botryobasidium''), had wide, often right-angled

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 ...

, large two- to eight-spored basidia, and smooth

basidiospores A basidiospore is a reproductive spore produced by Basidiomycete fungi, a grouping that includes mushrooms, shelf fungi, rusts, and smuts. Basidiospores typically each contain one haploid nucleus that is the product of meiosis, and they are pro ...

. He described a second genus, ''Botryohypochnus'', for species with ornamented basidiospores. The genus was later monographed by Langer (1994) who included ''Botryohypochnus'' within the generic concept of ''Botryobasidium''. Asexual

ic forms, producing chlamydospores but not basidia and basidiospores, had been treated separately and given a variety of generic names. These were reviewed by Holubová-Jechková (1980) who considered most of these genera synonymous with ''Haplotrichum'', the anamorphic state of ''Botryobasidium''.

Current status

Following changes to the

International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants The ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) is the set of rules and recommendations dealing with the formal botanical names that are given to plants, fungi and a few other groups of organisms, all those "trad ...

, the practice of giving different names to teleomorph and anamorph forms of the same fungus has been discontinued, meaning that ''Haplotrichum'' and other anamorph genera have become synonyms of ''Botryobasidium''.

Molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioche ...

research, based on

cladistic Cladistics (; ) is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups (" clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is typically shared derived char ...

analysis of

DNA sequences A nucleic acid sequence is a succession of bases signified by a series of a set of five different letters that indicate the order of nucleotides forming alleles within a DNA (using GACT) or RNA (GACU) molecule. By convention, sequences are usua ...

, indicates that the genus (including ''Botryohypochnus'') is

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

and forms a natural group within the Cantharellales.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10433748 Cantharellales Taxa described in 1931 Taxa named by Marinus Anton Donk Agaricomycetes genera