''Fuscocerrena'' is a fungal genus in the family

Polyporaceae The Polyporaceae are a family of poroid fungi belonging to the Basidiomycota. The flesh of their fruit bodies varies from soft (as in the case of the dryad's saddle illustrated) to very tough. Most members of this family have their hymeniu ...

. It is a monotypic genus, containing the single polypore species ''Fuscocerrena portoricensis'', found in eastern North America, Central America, and South America.

Taxonomy

''Fuscocerrena'' was

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every polyg ...

by Norwegian mycologist

Leif Ryvarden Leif Randulff Ryvarden (born 9 August 1935) is a Norwegian mycologist. Early life and education Leif Ryvarden was born in Bergen as a son of Einar Norberg Johansen (1900–1959) and Hjørdis Randulff (1912–1975). He finished his secondary edu ...

in 1982 to contain the fungus originally described by Elias Fries as ''Polyporus portoricensis''. This species was also previously placed in ''Cerrenella'', a genus proposed by William Murrill in 1905, but later abandoned.

Description

The genus is characterized by its irregular

fruit body In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the Ovary (plants), ovary after flowering plant, flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their ...

that when fresh is farinose (covered by a white, mealy powder) and greenish white in colour; older fruit bodies become dark brown. Microscopically, the fungus features a 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 ...

l system, generative hyphae with

clamp connections 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), recei ...

, and dendrohyphidia (small, spiderweb-like hyphae)–a characteristic, which although common in the family

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, ...

, is seldom encountered in the

. The spores of ''Fuscocerrena portoricensis'' are

hyaline A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from el, ὑάλινος, translit=hyálinos, lit=transparent, and el, ὕαλος, translit=hýalos, lit=crystal, glass, label=none. Histopathology Hyaline cartilage is ...

, cylindrical, and non- amyloid, measuring 5–7 by 2–2.5

μm The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...

Habitat and distribution

''Fuscocerrena portoricensis'' is found in eastern North America, Central America, and South America, and has also been collected in Cuba and Jamaica. It grows on decomposing deciduous wood.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5509960 Fungi of the Caribbean Fungi of the United States Fungi of Central America Fungi of Mexico Fungi of South America Polyporaceae Monotypic Polyporales genera Taxa named by Leif Ryvarden Fungi described in 1982 Fungi without expected TNC conservation status