''Carcinomyces mycetophilus'' is a

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 ...

fungus 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 th ...

in the

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

Tremellomycetes The Tremellomycetes are a class of dimorphic fungi in the Agaricomycotina. Some species have gelatinous basidiocarps (fruiting bodies) or (microscopically) a sacculate parenthesome. There are six orders, 17 families, and 39 genera in the Tremel ...

. It is a parasite, producing extensive, gelatinous galls on

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) of its host, the

agaric An agaric () is a type of fungus fruiting body characterized by the presence of a pileus (cap) that is clearly differentiated from the stipe (stalk), with lamellae (gills) on the underside of the pileus. In the UK, agarics are called "mushrooms ...

Gymnopus dryophilus ''Gymnopus dryophilus'' is a mushroom commonly found in temperate woodlands of Europe and North America. It is generally saprophytic, but occasionally also attacks living wood. It belongs to section ''Levipedes'' of the genus, being characterize ...

''. Its

generic Generic or generics may refer to: In business * Generic term, a common name used for a range or class of similar things not protected by trademark * Generic brand, a brand for a product that does not have an associated brand or trademark, other ...

placement is currently uncertain, but morphologically it is close to 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 specimen ...

of '' Carcinomyces''. It was first described by

Charles Horton Peck Charles Horton Peck (March 30, 1833 – July 11, 1917) was an American mycologist of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He was the New York State Botanist from 1867 to 1915, a period in which he described over 2,700 species of North American fun ...

from North America, where it is widespread and called Collybia jelly. It has also been recorded in continental Europe.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q107547846 Tremellomycetes Taxa named by Charles Horton Peck Fungi described in 1875 Fungus species