The Echinodontiaceae are a

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

crust 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 p ...

in the order

Russulales The Russulales are an order (biology), order of the Agaricomycetes, (which include the agaric genera ''Russula'' and ''Lactarius (fungus), Lactarius'' and their polypore, polyporoid and corticioid relatives). According to the ''Dictionary of the ...

. Species of this family, divided amongst two

genera 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 nomenclat ...

—'' Echinodontium'' and '' Laurilia''—have a widespread distribution, although they are especially predominant in north

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

zones. They are

parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has c ...

saprobic Saprotrophic nutrition or lysotrophic nutrition is a process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion involved in the processing of decayed (dead or waste) organic matter. It occurs in saprotrophs, and is most often associated with fungi ( ...

on wood, and may cause

white rot A wood-decay or xylophagous fungus is any species of fungus that digests moist wood, causing it to rot. Some species of wood-decay fungi attack dead wood, such as brown rot, and some, such as ''Armillaria'' (honey fungus), are parasitic and col ...

angiosperms Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

and

gymnosperms 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, γυμνό� ...

Description

Species of this family have

resupinate Resupination is derived from the Latin word ''resupinus'', meaning "bent back with the face upward" or "on the back". "Resupination" is the noun form of the adjective "resupine" which means "being upside-down, supine or facing upward". The word " ...

to effused- reflexed

basidiocarp 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 ...

s, smooth to spiny

hymenophore A hymenophore refers to the hymenium-bearing structure of a fungal fruiting body. Hymenophores can be smooth surfaces, lamellae, folds, tubes, or teeth. The term was coined by Robert Hooke Robert Hooke FRS (; 18 July 16353 March 1703) was ...

amyloid Amyloids are aggregates of proteins characterised by a Fibril, fibrillar morphology of 7–13 Nanometer, nm in diameter, a beta sheet (β-sheet) Secondary structure of proteins, secondary structure (known as cross-β) and ability to be Staining, ...

spores, dimitic

hypha 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 ...

e, and cause

Classification

The family was circumscribed by

Marinus Anton Donk Marinus Anton Donk (14 August 1908 – 2 September 1972) was a Dutch mycologist. He specialized in the taxonomy and nomenclature of mushrooms. Rolf Singer wrote in his obituary that he was "one of the most outstanding figures of contemporary myc ...

in 1961, and

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

ed by Henry L. Gross in 1964. He recognized six species in the genus ''Echinodontium'' (''E. tinctorium'', ''E. tsugicola'', ''E. ballouii'', ''E. japonicum'', ''E. taxodii'' and ''E. sulcatum'') with hymenia ranging from smooth to spiny. Walter Jülich added another genus ''Laurilia'' (incorporating ''E. taxodii'' and ''E. sulcatum'') when he described the family in 1981.Jülich W. (1981). ''Higher taxa of Basidiomycetes''. Biblio. Mycol. 85. J. Cramer, Stuttgart.

Molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

studies show that the Echinodontiaceae belong in the Russuloid

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

. Although some studies have suggested that the genus ''Echinodontium'' is closely related to ''

Amylostereum ''Amylostereum'' is the single genus in the fungal family Amylostereaceae. The genus currently comprises four saprotrophic and parasitic species, which live off living or dead wood. The Amylostereaceae cause white rot in the wood by disintegratin ...

'', a more recent study does not support this conclusion.

Genera

Species in the genus '' Echinodontium'' have a hydnaceous (with spinelike protuberances) hymenial surface, dimitic hyphal system, smooth

basidiospore 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 ...

s, and in three of four species, a

symbiotic Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...

association with

horntail Horntail or wood wasp are any of the 150 non-social species of the hymenopteran family Siricidae, a type of wood-eating sawfly. The common name "horntail" derives from the stout, spine-like structure at the end of the adult's abdomen, which is u ...

s — ''

Sirex ''Sirex'' is a genus of wasps in the family Siricidae, the horntails or wood wasps. They inject eggs with fungal endosymbionts into wood. The fungus is contained in a mycangium which nourishes it with secretions, and in turn it digests wood fo ...

'' and ''

Urocerus ''Urocerus'' is a genus of horntails in the family Siricidae. There are about eight described species in ''Urocerus''. Species These species belong to the genus ''Urocerus'': * ''Urocerus albicornis'' ( Fabricius, 1781) (white horned horntail) ...

'' species. The insects eat the fungus and help disperse the species by inoculating the wood of the host tree with either hyphal fragments or spores when they lay their eggs. The genus '' Laurilia'' has species characterized by an even to tuberculate hymenial surface, dimitic hyphal system, and

echinulate The following is a glossary of scientific terminology, terms used in the description of lichens, composite organisms that arise from algae or cyanobacteria living among Hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species in a Mutualism (biology), mutuali ...

basidiospores. In his monograph on the Echinodontiaceae, Gross (1964) suggested that '' Echinodontium'' and '' Laurilia'' were congeneric (sharing the same taxonomic genus), sharing features such as

clamp connection A clamp connection is a hook-like structure formed by growing hyphal cells of certain fungi. It is a characteristic feature of Basidiomycetes fungi. It is created to ensure that each cell, or segment of hypha separated by septa (cross walls), rec ...

s, thick-walled encrusted

cystidia A cystidium (plural cystidia) is a relatively large cell found on the sporocarp of a basidiomycete (for example, on the surface of a mushroom gill), often between clusters of basidia. Since cystidia have highly varied and distinct shapes that ar ...

and a brown

context Context may refer to: * Context (language use), the relevant constraints of the communicative situation that influence language use, language variation, and discourse summary Computing * Context (computing), the virtual environment required to su ...

. Later molecular data have supported this early hypothesis.

Notable species

The species ''

Echinodontium tinctorium ''Echinodontium tinctorium'' is a species of fungus in the family Echinodontiaceae. A plant pathogen, it is common name, commonly known as the Indian paint fungus. Found on tree species such as grand fir (and indicating a rotten core), it can be ...

'' causes a destructive tree disease called "true

heart rot 300px, The bracket fungus '' Fistulina hepatica'' is one of many that cause heart rot. In trees, heart rot is a fungal disease that causes the decay of wood at the center of the trunk and branches. Fungi enter the tree through wounds in the bark ...

", meaning the decay is confined to the

heartwood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

of the tree. The specific epithet ''tinctorium'' makes reference to the usage of fruit bodies (commonly known as the "indian paint fungus") by Native Americans to prepare red

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compo ...

s. One of the

s in this species, named echinotinctone (2,6-dihydroxy-1,8-dimethyl-3H-xanthen-3-one), is the first simple

fluorone Fluorone is a heterocyclic chemical compound. It forms the core structure for various chemicals, most notably fluorone dyes, including fluorescein, erythrosine and rhodamine. It is an isomer of xanthone Xanthone is an organic compound with t ...

pigment from fungi. Another species, ''E. ballouii'', known only from two collections on

Atlantic white cedar ''Chamaecyparis thyoides'' (Atlantic white cedar, Atlantic white cypress, southern white cedar, whitecedar, or false-cypress), a species of ''Cupressaceae'', is native to the Atlantic coast of North America and is found from southern Maine to ...

, has not been found since 1909, coinciding with a reduction in the range of this tree due to harvesting. '' Echinodontium ryvardenii'' is a species found only on

Juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

plants in

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

. The illudane

sesquiterpenoid Sesquiterpenes are a class of terpenes that consist of three isoprene units and often have the molecular formula C15H24. Like monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes may be cyclic or contain rings, including many unique combinations. Biochemical modificati ...

s echinolactones A and B have been isolated from the culture broth of ''E. japonicum''. A number of

triterpenoids Triterpenes are a class of chemical compounds composed of three terpene units with the molecular formula C30H48; they may also be thought of as consisting of six isoprene units. Animals, plants and fungi all produce triterpenes, including squale ...

have also been identified in ''E. tsugicola''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3046978 Russulales Basidiomycota families