''Corticium'' 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 ...

fungi 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 ...

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 ...

Corticiaceae The Corticiaceae are a family of fungi in the order Corticiales. The family formerly included almost all the corticioid (patch- or crust-forming) fungi, whether they were related or not, and as such was highly artificial. In its current sense, ...

Basidiocarps In fungi, a basidiocarp, basidiome, or basidioma () is the sporocarp of a basidiomycete, the multicellular structure on which the spore-producing hymenium is borne. Basidiocarps are characteristic of the hymenomycetes; rusts and smuts do not ...

(fruit bodies) are effused,

corticioid 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 ...

, smooth, and grow on dead wood. One species, ''C. silviae'', is

lichenicolous A lichenicolous fungus is a parasitic fungus that only lives on lichen as the host. A lichenicolous fungus is not the same as the fungus that is the component of the lichen, which is known as a lichenized fungus. They are most commonly specific to ...

. The genus was formerly used in a very wide sense for almost any effused

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 ...

Taxonomy

History

The genus ''Corticium'' was established by Persoon in 1794 for fungi having smooth, effused fruit bodies. ''

Corticium roseum ''Corticium roseum'' is a species of fungus in the family Corticiaceae. Basidiocarps (fruit bodies) are effused, smooth, corticioid, and pink. The species has a wide, north and south temperate distribution and in Europe is typically found on dea ...

'' was later selected as 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 ...

. Subsequent authors described over 1000 species in the genus which continued to be used in its wide sense up until the 1950s. Though a number of genera had been recognized as distinct from ''Corticium'' from the late nineteenth century onwards, it was not until Swedish mycologist John Eriksson reviewed the

fungi in a series of publications starting in 1950Eriksson J. (1958). ''Studies in the Heterobasidiomycetes and Homobasidiomycetes-Aphyllophorales of Muddus National Park in Sweden''. Uppsala. that modern concepts were formed. The genus ''Corticium'' was still retained, but restricted to a few species considered to be related to the type species.

Current Status

Molecular 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 us ...

, has shown that ''Corticium'' is a natural ( monophyletic) taxon, but that not all species previously considered to belong within the genus (in its strict sense) are closely related. Several have been moved to other genera within the Corticiaceae.

References

Corticiales Agaricomycetes genera {{Agaricomycetes-stub