''Genea harknessii'' is a species of ''
Genea
''Genea'' is a genus of truffle-like fungi in the family Pyronemataceae. There are about 32 species in the genus that occur in North America and Europe. The genus was circumscribed by Italian mycologist Carlo Vittadini in 1831.
The genus na ...
''
truffle-like
ascocarp
An ascocarp, or ascoma (), is the fruiting body ( sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. Ascocarps are m ...
fungi in the family
Pyronemataceae. The species was described by
Helen Gilkey in 1916. ''G. harknessii'' grows underground in forests, especially white
oak forests, but also in
conifer
Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...
ous forests.
The mature fruit has a convoluted, brain-like appearance and often is no larger than an adult's thumbnail. The exterior is dark brown (to nearly black) with a hollow interior. The flesh between the dark interior and exterior 'skin' is white to pale grey.
References
Pyronemataceae
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